Product Liability

Product liability refers to actions for injuries suffered as the result of a defective product. This includes actions against product designers, manufacturers or distributors. Some examples include defective tires and wheels, dangerous baby toys, medical devices, pharmaceuticals and industrial machinery. A look at the law that governs such cases in Florida is outlined below.

Strict Product Liability

Strict product liability refers to fault that is imposed without regard to proof of negligence. To recover under strict product liability, the plaintiff must prove that an unreasonably dangerous condition or defect existed in the product, that the condition existed at the time the product left the manufacturer's control and that the condition was a proximate cause of the plaintiff's injury. The plaintiff may create an inference that the product was defective by direct or circumstantial evidence, that there was no abnormal use of the product, that there was no reasonable secondary cause of the injury, and that the product failed to perform in the manner reasonably expected.