Product Defect

San Diego Product Liability Attorney Answers Frequently Asked Product Defect Questions

What is a "product defect"?
A product liability attorney understands the four principal kinds of product defects - design, manufacture, damaged products and products with improper or insufficient warnings or instructions.

Design defects are those which stem from the basic design of the product rather than a defect in its manufacture or damage to the product after it leaves the manufacturer. Product Liability is typically found where the design presents a risk of harm to users who utilize the product in its intended fashion where that risk outweighs the cost and inconvenience of utilizing a safer design.

Manufacturing defects are those which result from improper fabrication of the product or assembly of its component parts at the manufacturer's site.

The designer, manufacturer or seller may also be found liable where the product has been damaged before sale, such as a car with a leaking brake line, or any other instance where the defect occurred after the product left the assembly line.

Failure to provide adequate instructions and warnings as to a products proper use and the risks involved gives rise to the fourth category of defect, referred to as "failure to warn" - for example, a paint or solvent which gives off dangerous fumes without warnings to use in an adequately-ventilated area.

Who is responsible for a product defect claim?
This depends on the type of product defect claimed. All parties responsible for designing, manufacturing or selling the product (what is known as the "stream of commerce" for a product) are all potentially responsible for the defect. Once a claim is made, those parties will attempt first to discredit the plaintiff's claims in general (e.g. the product was used improperly, the product was damaged by the plaintiff before use, etc...), and then they will attempt to place blame on someone else in the stream of commerce - the manufacturer or designer will claim that the product was damaged by the seller, or was improperly assembled by the seller, for instance, while the seller will claim that the design or manufacture was defective, that they simply sold the product "as received", and/or that they conveyed all warnings or instructions given the them by the manufacturer to be passed on to the consumer.

With all of these parties playing a game of "point the finger", you can see where the advice of an experienced product liability attorney becomes invaluable in sorting out the conflicting claims, as well as defending your conduct and integrity from attack from all sides.