Can Retailers Be Liable for Defective Products?

We use hundreds of manufactured products in our everyday lives in the United States, rarely giving them a second thought until a product we assumed was safe and reliable causes a serious injury. When a product causes harm, many injury victims turn to the manufacturer as the likely liable party, but is a retailer ever liable for injuries caused by a defective product? If you or a loved one has been injured due to a defective product, call our Seattle product liability attorney today.

According to the law, both product manufacturers and retailers have a duty to ensure that consumers buy safe, reliable products. When can an injury victim hold a retailer responsible for their damages like medical expenses, lost wages, and pain and suffering after a defective product injury?

Causes of Action in Defective Product Claims

Providing that the consumer uses a product as it was intended, a defective product injury results from one of three actionable causes:

A Design Defect

When a product has an inherent flaw in its design the manufacturer cannot produce a safe product. Proving a design defect in a product typically requires showing that no manufacturer could have produced the product as safe to consumers or that a safer alternative design existed.

A Manufacturing Defect

When a product’s design should have produced a safe product but the manufacturer departed from the original design, either intentionally or through an assembly error, the error or change in the product’s manufacturing caused the injury.

A Marketing Defect (Failure to Warn)

When a marketing error results in an inadequate warning label, assembly instructions, or usage instructions an injury occurs as a result, the claim falls into the marketing defect category.

When Is a Retailer Liable for an Injury Victim’s Damages?

When an individual who suffered a serious or catastrophic injury from a product defect has a substantial claim for damages due to extensive medical bills and life-altering impacts to their ability to support themselves and their families, a product liability claim holds the at-fault party accountable for the injury and provides compensation for the victim’s damages.

One strategy that helps injury victims move forward with the largest possible settlement or court award for their extensive damages is to name multiple defendants in a lawsuit. For a product liability lawsuit, the product manufacturer, marketer, and retailer are all potentially liable for the damages. An injury victim may hold a retailer liable for damages if the retailer was aware that the product was defective or unsafe but sold it to consumers anyway, making them complicit in the harm it caused to the consumer. A retailer has the duty to remove unsafe products from their shelves or inventory to prevent injuries to consumers.

An injury victim may also hold a retailer accountable for damages in a compensation claim if the retailer altered the product’s packaging in a way that removed or hid a warning label, a safety seal, or instructions for proper assembly or usage.

Proving Liability in a Defective Product Claim

Proving a manufacturer, marketer, and/or retailer liable requires demonstrating the following:

• The product was defective either in its design, manufacturing, or marketing
• The injury victim used the product as intended (or in a manner the manufacturer could reasonably have predicted it would be used)
• The defect caused injuries and financial losses to the victim

Proving a manufacturer and/or a retailer liable for a victim’s injury and damages can quickly become challenging and requires a well-executed strategy. A personal injury attorney in Seattle may be able to help figure out how to prove liability in your case. Many defective product claims end with an out-of-court settlement, but if the liability insurer of the defendant fails to offer an acceptable settlement amount, the case may proceed to a lawsuit within the state’s statute of limitations for personal injury cases.