What Is Product Liability? Strict Liability and Defective Product Claims in Florida

Product liability is the area of law that holds manufacturers, distributors and sellers responsible when a product they put on the market injures someone. Its most important feature is strict liability: in many cases you don't have to prove anyone was careless, only that the product was defective.

What is strict product liability?

Under strict liability, a company that makes or sells a product can be responsible for injuries caused by a defect in it, even if the company was careful. The question is not whether they tried hard enough. It is whether the product was unreasonably dangerous when it left their hands, and whether that defect caused the injury. Florida also allows product claims based on negligence and on breach of warranty, and many cases rely on more than one theory.

The three types of product defects

• Manufacturing defects: something went wrong in production, so one unit or batch differs from the intended design. A cracked weld, a contaminated batch of medicine, a missing part.
• Design defects: the design itself is dangerous, so every unit carries the risk. Florida courts generally ask whether the product performed as safely as an ordinary consumer would expect when used as intended or in a reasonably foreseeable way.
• Failure to warn: the product carried a risk that wasn't obvious, and the warnings or instructions didn't adequately explain the danger or how to avoid it.

Who can be held liable

Liability can reach the whole chain of distribution: the manufacturer of the finished product, the maker of a defective component, the distributor or wholesaler, and often the retailer that sold it. Identifying every party matters, because each may carry its own insurance, and some may be overseas or out of business.

Common defective product cases

• Vehicles and auto parts: airbags, tires, brakes, seat belts.
• Medical devices, implants and dangerous prescription drugs.
• Power tools, industrial machinery and safety equipment.
• Household products: appliances, heaters, furniture that tips over, children's products.
• E-bikes, scooters and lithium-ion batteries.

Florida deadlines for product liability claims

Since Florida's 2023 tort reform, many injury claims must be filed within two years, and the deadline in a product case can depend on the legal theory and the facts. Treat two years from the injury as your working deadline. Florida also has a statute of repose that can bar claims involving older products, for many products 12 years after delivery to the first buyer, regardless of when the injury happened. There are exceptions for latent injuries and concealed defects.

How fault and misuse affect a claim

Manufacturers almost always argue misuse, modification or ignored warnings. Under Florida's comparative fault rules, your recovery is reduced by any share of fault assigned to you, and in most cases you recover nothing if you are found more than 50% at fault. Foreseeable misuse doesn't automatically defeat a claim, though: manufacturers are expected to anticipate how people realistically use their products.

In a product case, the product is the evidence. Lose the product, and you have handed the manufacturer its best defense.

What to do if a product injured you

• Keep the product and everything that came with it: packaging, manual and receipt. Don't repair it, throw it away, or send it back to the manufacturer.
• Photograph the product, the scene and your injuries.
• Check for recalls on the CPSC, NHTSA or FDA websites.
• Write down the model and serial number and where you bought it.
• Be careful with requests from a manufacturer or insurer to inspect or collect the product, and get advice first.

How insurers defend product claims

Manufacturers' insurers treat serious injury claims as litigation from day one. Expect engineering experts, an early push to examine the product, and arguments about misuse and other causes. From my years on the carrier side, the claims that move are the ones with the product preserved, the chain of custody documented, and expert analysis ready before the first negotiation.