Product liability law is widely misunderstood. When the media reports cases where companies are sued for defective products, they tend to concentrate on the jury award amounts, which are sometimes quite high. The cases where it seems like the individual who was harmed should have known better also tend to get more play than the cases where someone was seriously injured. This tends to skew the public’s perception of these laws, but they’re very sensible, in all reality.

In a product liability claim, the party suing may claim that they were harmed in several different ways. They may claim that hazards inherent to the product were not clarified by the manufacturer. They may also claim that the manufacturing process used for the product was flawed and, as a result, they were harmed by a faulty product. They may also claim that the product, when used as intended, was inherently dangerous. As an example of how this influences consumer products, you’ll find printed warnings on most items that are dangerous when used correctly. Lawnmowers, for instance, have many warnings on them about the dangers of flying objects striking your eyes and of the dangers of coming too close to the blades.

When people talk about healthcare, they often talk about how lawsuits increase the costs. If you made a list of dangerous drugs that were withdrawn from the market only after people started suing, it would be very long. Prescription drugs are just one of the products that are covered under product liability law. This law ensures that manufacturers cannot release something onto the market and claim its safe without being held responsible for that product.

Some of the most dangerous products on the market are tools. These products are simply dangerous when they’re used exactly as intended. There’s no such thing as a safe table saw, for instance. The manufacturers of these devices have to ensure, however, that the products they manufacture are labeled clearly as to their hazards and that they’re made as safe as possible. Product liability lawsuits sometimes involve products that are dangerous under normal circumstances, but which are also manufactured to poor standards that result in them being even more dangerous than need be the case.