A product liability claim may be based on breach of warranty.  A manufacturer may be liable under Washington products liability law even in the absence of design defects, construction defects, or a failure to warn if the product fails a warranty. A warranty may be expressed or implied.

A product fails an express warranty if the express warranty is “made part of the basis of the bargain and relates to a material fact or facts concerning the product and the express warranty proved to be untrue”.[1]

An implied warranty is determined in the same manner as under the Uniform Commercial Code.[2]

There must be privity of contract between buyer and seller, or advertising or direct communication to create a reliance on representations from the manufacturer.  A breach of warranty product liability claim may fail if the product was a gift received without communication of express warranty to the recipient.[3]

This information is not a substitute for legal advice.  For advice about an products liability or other injury claim feel free to contact us.

[2] RCW 7.72.030(2)(c); RCW Title 62A.

[3] Thongchoom v. Graco Children’s Products, Inc., 117 Wn.App.  299 (2003); Tex Enterprises, Inc. v. Brockway Standard, Inc., 149 Wn.2d 204 (2003).