Products Liability law holds designers, manufacturers, and sellers civilly liable for the harm suffered by buyers and users of defective products. A “product” can be almost anything, from an aeronautical chart to a Ziploc™ bag. Categories of products—which can be the focus of sub-areas of practice—include: medical devices; drugs; motor vehicles and parts or accessories for those vehicles; machinery and tools; toys; household products; toxic chemicals; food and tobacco; and, firearms. “Defects” include flaws in the way a product is designed, manufactured, or marketed (i.e., insufficient warnings or instructions). Typical causes of action in products liability include strict liability (the usual theory of recovery), breach of warranty, negligence, manufacturing and design defects, and breach of the duty to warn.

 

Many products liability cases tend to be large and complex, in terms of the number of parties involved, the procedural mechanisms required to litigate them, and the scientific and medical issues involved. These cases attract large law and national firms, who have the personnel, expertise, and financial resources required to litigate these cases.