Strict Liability for Manufacturers and Sellers in Product Defect Suits
Manufacturers and sellers of products have a responsibility to prevent unduly dangerous items from being released into the stream of commerce.

November 12, 2011 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Manufacturers and sellers of products have a responsibility to prevent unduly dangerous items from being released into the stream of commerce. Although most companies are serious about the safety of their customers, defective products still cause thousands of severe injuries every year.

Special legal rules have developed that give those injured by a dangerous or defective produce a better chance at economic recovery in court compared to those who are hurt in other ways. With the help of a New Jersey product liability lawyer, Garden State residents who have suffered harm at the hands of a faulty product can pursue the compensation they need.

Strict Liability Applies To Makers of Defective Products

In most types of personal injury actions, to be successful a plaintiff must show that the defendant was negligent in some way, either through action or failure to act on a necessary duty. However, an intimate knowledge of a manufacturer's business systems and distribution network would often be required to prove carelessness in bringing a defective product to market -- knowledge that it would be extremely burdensome and expensive for consumers injured by products to acquire.

For this reason, a doctrine known as strict liability is now applied in most defective products cases in New Jersey. Strict liability means that a manufacturer or seller of a product is liable (financially responsible) for all injuries that arise out of the use of their product, regardless of how careful they have been, provided three conditions are met.
- The product must have had an unreasonably dangerous defect that caused injury.
- The injury must have resulted from using the product in the intended manner.
- The product must not have been substantially modified from the condition in which it was originally sold.

One caveat should be mentioned: strict liability may be inapplicable in a products liability case if the user knew about a dangerous defect, but continued to use the item anyway.

Three Types of Product Defects

There are three types of product defects that can give rise to liability: manufacturing defects, design defects and defects in marketing.

A manufacturing defect occurs when products depart from their intended design, often due to some flaw in the production process. Typically manufacturing defects affect only a handful of products out of many that are constructed. Design defects present an inherent danger when using the product -- even when constructed according to standards of quality, something about how a product was envisioned makes it unsafe in the course of its intended use.

Marketing defects involve a failure to provide proper warning or adequate instructions. In other words, marketing defects apply to dangerous products that could have been rendered safe to use if sold accompanied by sufficient information.

Discuss Your Case With an Attorney

If you or a loved one has been injured by a dangerous product, contact an attorney as soon as possible: quick action ensures that evidence remains fresh and you do not run afoul of the statute of limitations. Do not forgo the monetary damages you may be entitled to for medical bills, wages lost due to an inability to work, pain and suffering, and other pecuniary or personal losses. Contact a products liability attorney in your area to begin protecting your rights.

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