Product Liability in California

The courts have established a duty of care for the manufacturer of any potentially dangerous product to any person who might foreseeably be expected to be injured by it. Where the product is or should be known to be dangerous for the intended use, either inherently or because of defects, there is a duty to warn (i.e., to disclose the danger).

Where the product is dangerous and not carefully made, liability is imposed for negligence in manufacturing or assembling. The product may be dangerous because of a defective design or formulation. The manufacturer’s negligence may be the failure to adopt a safe design or give warning of a particular danger.

With regard to product liability, the manufacturer’s liability can be imposed irrespective of fault. A manufacturer is strictly liable in tort when an article he places on the market, knowing that it is to be used without inspection for defects, proves to have a defect that causes injury to a human being.

Almost every day in the news a recall is announced concerning a particular product. Even heavily regulated products such as pharmaceutical drugs or automobiles can be declared defective despite substantial testing. It comes as no surprise, that dietary supplements, which enjoy little regulation, are often claimed to be defective for a variety of reasons.

John Tiedt has been handling product liability cases since 1988. He successfully obtained a verdict for $4.1 million in a complicated dietary supplement litigation case, Hagen v. Fox Nutrition, et al., Los Angeles Superior Court Case No. PC 031349x. Product Liability cases require substantial investment of intellect, time, money, and energy. Our office considers product liability law challenging and rewarding. If you have a potential product liability case, please do not hesitate to contact us.

See also Dietary Supplement/Drug Litigation