What Is Product Liability?

Last updated on July 8, 2025

The United States is a country with abundant consumer goods that have been manufactured all over the world and marketed in our country. Many Americans are injured every year by consumer goods that are defective and unreasonably dangerous.

Persons injured by such consumer goods have a legal right under Indiana law and the law of other jurisdictions to pursue claims for damages for personal injury caused by defective and unreasonably dangerous products. If an individual has been injured as a result of a defective and unreasonably dangerous consumer product and can sustain the burden of proof on that issue, then the individual is entitled to collect money damages for the nature and extent of the injury caused, disfigurement, the permanency of any injury sustained, physical pain and emotional distress, the loss of enjoyment of life, lost income, health care expenses, and other out-of-pocket expenses.

Contact our Indiana personal injury lawyers online or by phone at 317-505-1760 for a free consultation. Our law firm focuses on substantial injury cases. We have the knowledge, experience, courage and financial strength to represent you against large corporations that manufacture many of the consumer products in this country and around the world.

Common Types Of Product Liability Claims

Manufacturers of consumer products have a legal responsibility to design, manufacture and market their products in a manner so that the products are not defective and not unreasonably dangerous for use by consumers. They also have a legal responsibility to design, manufacture and market their products in a reasonable and safe manner. When manufacturers fail to do this, they can be held legally responsible if their defective products cause injury and harm to consumers. The following are common types of product liability claims that can be made by consumers who have been injured by a defective or unreasonably dangerous consumer product:

Design defects: Some consumer products are defective and unreasonably dangerous because of the design of the product. Such products have inherent defects that cannot be made safe by the manner or method of manufacture or by any type of marketing.

Manufacturing defects: Some consumer products are designed in a safe and reasonable manner and are not defective and unreasonably dangerous as a result of the nature of their design. However, such potentially safe products can be defective and unreasonably dangerous if they are manufactured in a manner that makes them defective and unreasonably dangerous. A simple example of this would be a medication that is correctly and safely designed but is contaminated during the manufacturing process in a manner that causes injury and damage to consumers.

Failure to warn or inadequate warning: Some consumer products can be designed and manufactured correctly but still contain inherent risk of injury to consumers. Such a product could be a lawn mower, a power tool, a medical device or a medication. With these types of products, a manufacturer has a legal responsibility to provide precise, clear and meaningful warnings of the inherent and foreseeable risks in the use of the product.

False marketing/advertising: Some product manufacturers sometimes market their products in a manner that falsely or misleadingly states the benefits of the product or misleadingly downplays the risks of the product.

Corporations And Entities That Can Be Found Liable For Defective And Unreasonably Dangerous Products

Corporations and entities involved in different phases of the design, manufacture, and marketing of defective and unreasonably dangerous consumer products can be held liable if an injured person can sustain his or her burden of proving that he or she has sustained personal injury caused by a defective and unreasonably dangerous consumer product. Potentially liable entities include the following:

• Designers of a defective and unreasonably dangerous product
• Manufacturers of a defective and unreasonably dangerous product
• Designers or manufacturers of a component part of a defective and unreasonably dangerous product
• Distributors and wholesalers of a defective and unreasonably dangerous product
• Retailers of a defective and unreasonably dangerous product

Elements Of A Product Liability Claim

To sustain the burden of proof in prosecuting a product liability claim, an individual must prove, by a greater weight of the evidence, each of the following elements of a product liability claim.

1. The plaintiff was a user of the consumer product at issue in the lawsuit.
2. The product was defective and unreasonably dangerous or was designed, manufactured, or marketed in an unreasonable and negligent manner.
3. The plaintiff was injured as a direct and proximate result of the defective and unreasonably dangerous product or the negligent manner in which it was designed, manufactured or marketed.
4. The plaintiff was using the product in a manner for which the product was intended.
5. The plaintiff has sustained damages as a direct and proximate result of being injured by the product.

How Our Law Firm Can Help You With Your Product Liability Claim

Our law firm has successfully represented several individuals who have been badly injured and damaged by defective and unreasonably dangerous consumer products, resulting in permanent injuries and substantial damages.

Before you hire an attorney to represent you in a product liability claim, you should carefully interview the attorney to determine what experience that attorney has in handling this type of lawsuit, what the outcome has been in any such lawsuit handled by the attorney, and whether the attorney plans on representing you directly or referring you to another attorney. Our attorneys have the knowledge, training and experience to handle this type of lawsuit and will directly perform the work on your lawsuit.

Is A Class Action A Reasonable Remedy For Your Potential Product Liability Claim?

In some situations, a defective and unreasonably dangerous product may be widely used in the United States and cause injury and damage to a large number of individuals. In these situations, class action lawsuits are inevitably filed by attorneys representing large classes of plaintiffs. Sometimes, a class action is a reasonable and prudent legal remedy. That is particularly true if the injuries and damages sustained by each individual are not severe. However, if a person sustains severe injury and severe damage as a result of a defective and unreasonably dangerous product, it can be best to pursue an individual lawsuit. Our law firm is happy to discuss with you which remedy may be best for your given situation.

Representing People Throughout Indiana

For a free consultation, call our Carmel office at 317-505-1760 or contact us online today.