There are three types of product liability claims: 1) strict liability challenges the design or manufacture of the product itself; 2) negligence challenges reasonableness of a manufacturer's conduct; and 3) breach of warranty challenges a product's ability to live up to the seller's promises.
Strict liability is the most problematic because of its unique standard of proof. To successfully prove a strict liability claim, a plaintiff must show the following:
- The product was defective.
- The defect existed when the product left the manufacturer's control.
- The defect was a cause of the claimed injuries.
A product may be defective in three ways. One way is by design — for instance, with sharp Doritos. A product may also be defective by manufacture — as in the case of the finger in Wendy's chili — or by failure to warn, as when McDonald's coffee was said to be dangerously hot. If a person is injured using a product, then generally only the condition of the product itself matters in the eyes of the law, which often deems irrelevant that person's conduct when the accident occurred.
Gathering Basic Facts
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