Defective products can cause devastating injuries that can alter your life forever. When a product fails due to poor design, manufacturing errors, or inadequate warnings, Pennsylvania law provides strong protections for injured consumers. If you or a loved one has suffered harm from a defective product, you may have the right to pursue compensation through a product liability lawsuit.
Understanding Product Liability in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania has established robust legal frameworks that hold companies accountable when their products cause harm. Since 1966, Pennsylvania has followed the Restatement (Second) of Torts § 402A, which establishes strict liability for sellers of defective products. This means manufacturers and sellers can be held responsible even if they exercised “all possible care” in preparing and selling the product.
Types of Product Defects
When pursuing a product liability claim in Pennsylvania, you can establish that a product was defective in three primary ways:
- Design defects occur when a product’s design makes it inherently dangerous, even when manufactured correctly.
- Manufacturing defects happen when a product deviates from its intended design during production, creating a dangerous condition.
- Warning defects arise when a product lacks adequate instructions or warnings about potential dangers associated with its use.
Proving a Product is Defective
Pennsylvania courts use two primary tests to determine if a product is defectively designed:
- Risk-utility test: This test weighs the risks posed by the product against its usefulness. Courts consider factors such as the gravity of potential danger, likelihood of injury, feasibility of safer designs, and the cost of implementing alternative designs.
- Consumer expectation test: This simpler test focuses on whether the product performed as safely as an ordinary consumer would expect when used in an intended or foreseeable manner.
A plaintiff only needs to succeed on one of these tests to prove a product is defective.
Who Can Be Held Responsible?
In Pennsylvania, any party in the distribution chain can potentially be held liable for injuries caused by defective products, including:
- Manufacturers: The companies that design and create the products bear primary responsibility for safety.
- Retailers: Stores that sell defective products can be held liable even if they weren’t aware of the defect.
- Distributors and wholesalers: Intermediaries in the supply chain can also face liability under Pennsylvania law.
How SMT Legal Can Help
The product liability attorneys at SMT Legal will thoroughly investigate your case, identify all potentially responsible parties, and fight aggressively to secure the compensation you deserve. We have extensive experience handling complex product liability cases and will work to hold negligent manufacturers accountable.
Our team will gather crucial evidence—including expert testimony, product testing results, and industry standards documentation—to build the strongest possible case. We can pursue compensation for medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering, and other losses resulting from your injury.
If you’ve been injured by a defective product, the experienced personal injury attorneys at SMT Legal will fight tirelessly for your rights. Contact us today for a free consultation to discuss your potential product liability claim.
