A business may be facing a product liability claim if one of their products has proven defective and has injured an individual. However, there are three types of product liability claims.

Product liability claims evoke many questions on behalf of the injury victim. Common questions people ask include: “What are they and what are the differences between them?”, “When is someone facing a product liability claim?”, and “Are there viable defense strategies?”

Here’s what consumers need to know:

Design defect

Even before a product is manufactured and produced, there needs to be a design. If there is a flaw in the design that poses a threat to a consumer, the design team may find themselves on the hook for a lawsuit.

Design defects claims can be tricky to find a successful defense for. However, there are certain defenses that can be successful. For example, if the plaintiff claims that the design of the product caused the injury, but there was abnormal use of the product, there would have been no way for the designer to predict that the product will harm an individual. In this case the designer may not be liable for the damages.

Manufacturing defect

On the flipside, even when a product design is flawless, manufacturers can still make mistakes. If the manufacturers stray from the design, whether intentional or not, an injured consumer may file a claim against them.

Manufacturing defect claim defenses, like design defect claims, can be complicated. However, a manufacturer and their defense team may not be accountable if, for example, the plaintiff altered the product after it was in their possession, and the alteration caused the injury.

Failure to provide a warning

A company could face a product liability lawsuit if they failed to give an adequate warning of a product to their consumers. If no warning was given and an individual injures themselves, the injured party may file a claim. 

Defenses to this type of claim may be successful if the injured individual should have known about the risks before using the product, or if there was no way for the manufacturer to predict that someone would sustain an injury in the manner that occurred.

Facing a product liability claim can be stressful, but knowing the types of claims one can face and the possible defenses for each can prove beneficial.