Washington Personal Injury Attorney | Product Liability
We all use consumer products every day and depend on the suppliers of consumer products to ensure that the products are reasonably safe when used for the intended purpose. Defective products often cause injury through no fault of the consumer. Contact our Washington Personal Injury Attorney to for a free personal injury case evaluation.
The Washington Products Liability Act primarily governs products liability in Washington, though federal law may preempt some claims. Some products, and some product sellers are not covered by the federal act.
Although the focus of the Act is to place liability on manufacturers, a retailer is liability under the Washington Products Liability Act under some circumstances. A seller is liable if the manufacturer is insolvent. A retail seller is also liable if the product was sold as a store-brand under the seller’s name, if the seller is a subsidiary of the manufacturer (or vice versa), or if the seller made express warranties.
A manufacturer is liable if a product is not reasonably safe. There are four ways an injury victim may establish that a product is not reasonably safe.
A manufacturer may be relieved of liability by showing that the product complied with a mandatory government contract specification. Other possible defenses to a products liability claim include the contributory fault of the injury victim. In addition, as with all injury claims, the injury victim must bring the products liability claim within the statute of limitations.
There is more information about products liability on this website. The information provided is not a substitute for legal advice. For advice about your situation contact our office for a free consultation with a personal injury attorney.