How Long Does One Need to Bring a Product Liability Claim?
The lifetime of a product starts at the first glimmer of an idea and progresses along a chain of manufacture that includes several phases like design, manufacture of parts, wholesaler and retailer, installer and user.
Manufacturers, product sellers, and marketers must look out for the health and safety of the consumers. California law prohibits companies from releasing harmful products onto the market. They are liable for any injuries caused by a defective product.
Under California product liability laws, a person has to prove several elements to hold a company liable for a defective product. The product must have been manufactured, designed, or distributed by the defendant. The product should have also been unreasonably dangerous due to poor manufacturing, a flawed design, or inadequate warnings. Additionally, a person should have used the product in a foreseeable, reasonable manner, and they suffered real harm due to the use of the product.
California product liability claims are typically categorized into three forms: manufacturing defects, design defects, and failure to warn. It is essential to understand that a defective product is the one that is unreasonably dangerous within the context of its anticipated use.
Under the manufacturing defects, the plaintiff has to establish that something went wrong in the manufacturing process, and the individual product deviated substantially from its intended design. The design defect claim is when plaintiffs argue that the entire line of products is fundamentally flawed. The failure to warn claims is when plaintiffs establish that the defendant did not explain adequately the risks associated with a product or that they marketed the product in a wrong manner.
The California law subjects product liability claims to a two-year statute of limitations. Generally, plaintiffs are given two years from the date of their injury to file a defective product lawsuit. The court simply dismisses the case if no claim is filed before the deadline expiry.
Under California product liability laws, victims who are injured can be able to recover damages for economic and noneconomic damages. However, large corporations and insurance carriers that typically defend product liability lawsuits are so aggressive. This makes it often hard to get access to fair financial compensation.
