What is Product Liability?
We live in a consumer-driven economy. New gadgets and widgets are marketed to Americans daily. Whether its herbal supplements, snow blowers, kitchen knives, MP3 players, computers, pharmaceuticals, Bluetooth wireless speakers, most Americans possess hundreds, even thousands, of products at any given time. When we talk about products, we’re talking about anything that constitutes tangible personal property. Product liability refers to the liability faced by corporations and companies, when their products are defective and injure or kill a consumer or consumers.
For example, if a person buys a new blender and – while using it to blend a smoothy – the blades fly off and injure the person, that person would likely have a products liability case against the manufacturer or retailer or another appropriate party. Whether we like or not, the products we buy to improve our quality of life sometimes make it worse. If this happens to you or a loved one, you must contact an attorney to protect your rights and to see that you are compensated for your injury and loss.
There are times when a victim of a product can recover more than just compensatory damages. For example, when a corporation, manufacturer or company makes a product knowing that it is almost certain to cause serious injury or death, but proceeds making and selling the product anyway, that company can later be forced to pay punitive damages. Punitive damages are meant to be a deterrent and a form of punishment, and – at times – can reach millions of dollars, in certain cases.
If you or someone you love has been injured as a result of using a defective product, call Hoffman Law today. Your call is completely confidential and your initial consultation is absolutely free!
Implied Warranty of Merchantability
Most states apply a doctrine of what is called “strict Liability,” when it comes to product liability cases. Massachusetts does not. In states where strict liability is applied to product liability cases, the plaintiff (the injured party) does NOT have to prove that the supplier of the product acted intentionally or negligently, when creating or supplying the product. This is what “strict liability” means. It means the defendant is strictly liable, even if he or she did not act intentionally or negligently. This makes it much easier for a victim of a defective product to recover for that injury. However, as we’ve already pointed out, Massachusetts does not apply strict liability, in product liability cases. Where does this leave consumers in Massachusetts?
One’s first conclusion, when realizing that Massachusetts has not followed the majority of states in applying strict liability to product liability cases, is to conclude that consumers in Massachusetts have gotten the short end of the “legal” stick, at least on this particular issue. However, all is not lost. In its Uniform Commercial Code (UCC), Massachusetts has included a number of different warranties that come close to making up for this omission. In fact, many legal experts believe that with the inclusion of the Implied Warranty of Merchantability and other warranties, in the Massachusetts UCC, the outcome is essentially the same as it would be under a legal theory of strict liability.
What is the Implied Warranty of Merchantability (“IWOM”)? Under the IWOM an injured plaintiff can recover, for his or her injuries, if the plaintiff proves: (1) the defendant was a merchant; (2) the product was sold or leased; (3) the way the plaintiff was using the product was foreseeable; (4) the product was defective; and (5) the defect was the cause (both factual cause and proximate cause) of the plaintiff’s injuries.
In general, what the IWOM and Massachusetts’ UCC have done is to eliminate the privity requirement. This means that just like in states that apply strict liability to product liability cases, an injured plaintiff in Massachusetts will have a claim against any and every party in the distribution chain, as long as it meets the legal definition of “merchant.” This typically means that a plaintiff injured by a product, in Massachusetts, will have a claim against both the retailer and manufacturer and any other party in the distribution chain. This is why the outcome, under the IWOM and Massachusetts’ UCC are—indeed—very similar.
If you have been injured or someone you love has been injured by a product, call us today. Even if you are not sure if the product was defective or that it was being used correctly. We can help you determine what your legal rights may be. As always, your initial consultation is entirely confidential and absolutely free. Call us today!