When you purchase a product in California, you expect it to be safe, and when it isn’t, you deserve more than just an explanation. Unfortunately, defective and dangerous products make their way into the hands of Los Angeles consumers every day, often causing serious injuries or even death. When a product fails to perform safely, California product liability law allows the manufacturer, distributor, or seller to be held legally responsible for the harm it causes. Understanding the different types of product defects and the legal theories used to prove liability under California Law is essential to building a successful product liability claim.
Types of Product Defects
There are three types of product defects recognized under California product liability law: design, manufacturing, and marketing defects. Pinpointing which one caused your injury shapes the entire legal strategy, and that work is best left to a Los Angeles product liability attorney who has done it before.
A design defect occurs when the design of the product is so poor that it poses a risk to whoever uses it. In these cases, the danger is inherent to the product’s design/blueprint, meaning every single unit produced carries the same flaw.
A manufacturing defect, however, occurs when the design of the product is fine, but an error occurred during the manufacturing process that made the product unsafe for use. Unlike a design defect, a manufacturing defect usually only affects a portion of the products produced rather than the whole product line.
A marketing defect, also known as a “failure to warn,” occurs when the manufacturer fails to provide the proper instructions or warning labels on the product.
Product liability cases are often associated with the pharmaceutical industry, but defects can occur in any type of product. Regardless of the product type, you must be able to prove you were using the product the way it was intended to be used at the time of your injury. If you were using the product in a way it was not intended, resulting injury can be considered the result of user error, which can weaken or defeat a California product liability claim.
Product Liability Theories
To prove negligence, you must show the injury was a direct result of the product’s defect, and the defect should have been a “reasonably foreseeable” result of the defect. This theory focuses on whether the manufacturer or another party in the chain of distribution failed to exercise reasonable care in designing, producing, or marketing the product.
The breach of warranty theory operates under the principle that all consumers are under the impression that the products they purchase are free from defects. When this is not the case, the manufacturer, designer, or distributor may be held liable for breaching that implied warranty.
When a plaintiff uses the strict liability theory, he does not have to prove which party is liable for the defect. Instead, the plaintiff only needs to demonstrate that the defect existed and that it caused their injury while the product was being used as intended.
Whether your case relies on negligence, breach of warranty, or California’s strict liability standard, you need an attorney who knows which theory gives you the strongest path to compensation.
