Can I Sue if I Was Injured By a Product? Common Questions About Product Liability in California
No win, no fee product liability lawyer in San Francisco: You pay no attorney’s fees unless we win compensation for you.
If a product has injured you, you’re probably wondering about your legal rights and whether you can sue.
Here are answers to some common questions about product liability law in California, so you know where you stand.
What Is Product Liability?
Here in California, companies can be held responsible when products are unsafe and cause harm. Injury victims may be able to sue for medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, and other damages.
It all has to do with something called product liability. This area of the law generally applies when a product is:
- Poorly manufactured
- Designed in a way that makes it dangerous
- Missing safety warnings
Depending on the circumstances, you could file a claim against a manufacturer, distributor, retailer, or another party in the supply chain if a product was defective and caused a serious injury.
Stoll & Haynes has handled product liability claims in the Bay Area for 30+ years. Our skilled attorneys include Walter A. Haynes IV, whose experience includes a $9 million victory in a case involving a space heater manufacturer.
Note: Past results don’t guarantee similar outcomes.
What Is Strict Liability?
Unlike other personal injury cases in California, product liability cases can be based on strict liability. This means that a company may be liable when a product is proven to be defective and caused harm, even if they weren’t negligent.
Product liability cases can also be based on:
- Negligence — when a company didn’t act reasonably to prevent harm
- Breach of warranty — when a product didn’t work as intended
Strict liability, negligence, and breach of warranty have different requirements and potential damages, so talk to a product liability lawyer about the best options in your circumstances.
What Are the 3 Categories of Defective Products?
Defective products normally fall into three categories:
Manufacturing defects
These happen when something goes wrong during the manufacturing of a product. For example, medication gets contaminated at the factory.
Design defects
These happen when a product is designed in a way that makes it unsafe. For example, a new car’s design increases the risk of accidents on San Francisco roads.
Marketing defects
Also known as failure to warn or instruct. These happen when a product is sold without proper instructions or warnings about safety risks. For example, medication doesn’t contain a label about possible side effects.
There were around 15 million consumer product injuries in 2024, according to the National Safety Council. That’s an 18% increase from 2023 and a 12% increase from 2019.
Can I Sue if I Was Injured By a Product in California?
You may be able to sue after being injured by a product if:
- You were using the product as intended
- The product was defective
- The defect caused an injury
- You suffered damages as a result
These are the four basic elements of a California product liability claim.
Damages may include medical bills, lost work, pain and suffering, and so on.
You could still make a claim even if you were partly at fault for what happened. Under California’s comparative negligence rules, your compensation may be reduced based on your share of fault. For example, if you were found to be 20% responsible for your injury, any compensation amount may be reduced by 20%.
What Can I Recover in a California Product Liability Claim?
It all depends on the severity of your injuries and other factors.
If you have a valid case, you may be able to sue for damages such as:
- Medical bills — including future bills
- Lost wages
- Lost earning potential
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional trauma
- Damage to personal property
- Punitive damages — rare, but may be available in cases where the responsible party was particularly reckless or malicious
Product liability damages can vary significantly, potentially ranging from a few thousand dollars to hundreds of thousands of dollars or more. Cases with serious injuries are generally higher in value than cases with minor injuries. (The outcome of your case may be different.)
A product liability attorney in San Francisco may be able to determine the value of your claim so you know what to expect.
How Long Do You Have to File a Product Liability Claim in California?
In California, you generally have 2 years from the date of your injury to file a claim. So the sooner you act, the better.
That said, there’s something called the delayed discovery rule (see CACI No. 455), which may give you more time if you didn’t immediately realize that a product caused your injury.
Who Is Responsible in a Product Liability Case?
This is a little trickier to answer, especially if there are multiple companies involved in a product’s supply chain.
Depending on what happened, one or more of the following may be responsible for your injuries:
- The manufacturer that made the product
- The company that designed the product
- The distributor that transported the product
- The retailer that sold the product
A San Francisco defective product attorney can identify the responsible party or parties that caused your injuries and help you pursue full compensation under California law.
Contact a Product Liability Lawyer in San Francisco
Injured by a product? Don’t leave things too long, as you risk losing out on compensation that may be legally yours.
Disclaimer: This article is for general information purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. If you need advice about your specific situation, please contact Stoll & Haynes directly.