Editing Product liability (section)

====Theories of liability====
In the United States, the claims most commonly associated with product liability are [[negligence]], [[strict liability]], [[breach of warranty]], and various [[consumer protection]] claims.

=====Breach of warranty=====
Warranties are statements by a manufacturer or seller concerning a product during a commercial transaction.  Warranty claims historically required [[privity]] between the injured party and the manufacturer or seller; in [[plain English]], they must be dealing directly with one another. As noted above, this requirement was demolished in the landmark ''Henningsen'' case.

Breach of warranty-based product liability claims usually focus on one of three types:
#Breach of an [[express warranty]],
#Breach of an [[implied warranty]] of merchantability, and
#Breach of an implied warranty of fitness for a particular purpose.
Express warranty claims focus on express statements by the manufacturer or the seller concerning the product (e.g., "This chainsaw is useful to cut turkeys").

The various implied warranties cover those expectations common to all products (e.g., that a tool is not unreasonably dangerous when used for its proper purpose), unless specifically disclaimed by the manufacturer or the seller.  They are implied by operation of law from the act of manufacturing, distributing, or selling the product. Claims involving real estate (especially mass-produced [[tract housing]]) may also be brought under a theory of implied warranty of habitability.

=====Negligence=====
A basic [[negligence]] claim consists of proof of

# a duty owed,
# a breach of that duty,
# the breach was the cause in fact of the plaintiff's injury (actual cause)
# the breach proximately caused the plaintiff's injury.
# and the plaintiff suffered actual quantifiable injury (damages).

As demonstrated in cases such as ''[[Winterbottom v. Wright]]'', the scope of the duty of care was limited to those with whom one was in privity. Later cases like ''[[MacPherson v. Buick Motor Co.]]'' broadened the duty of care to all who could be foreseeably injured by one's conduct.

Over time, negligence concepts have arisen to deal with certain specific situations, including [[negligence per se|negligence ''per se'']] (using a manufacturer's violation of a law or regulation, in place of proof of a duty and a breach) and [[res ipsa loquitur]] (an inference of negligence under certain conditions).

=====Strict liability=====
{{Main|Strict liability}}
Rather than focus on the behavior of the manufacturer (as in negligence), strict liability claims focus on the product itself.  Under strict liability, the manufacturer is liable if the product is defective, even if the manufacturer was not negligent in making that product defective.

Under a strict liability theory, the plaintiff merely needs to prove:

*the defendant manufactured, distributed, or supplied a product;
*the product was defective;
*the defect caused injury to the plaintiff; and 
*as a result, the plaintiff sustained damages.

=====Consumer protection=====
In addition to common law remedies, many states have enacted consumer protection statutes that provide specific remedies for certain specific types of product defects.  One reason for the appearance of such statutes is that under the "economic loss rule", strict liability in tort is unavailable for products that cause damage only to themselves.<ref name="Speidel">{{cite journal|last1=Speidel|first1=Richard E.|editor1-last=Carrington|editor1-first=Paul D.|editor2-last=Jones|editor2-first=Trina|title=Consumers and the American Contract System: A Polemic|journal=Law and Class in America: Trends Since the Cold War|date=2006|pages=260–278|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dMMqAmkAyyYC&pg=PA269|access-date=12 February 2017 |publisher=New York University Press |location=New York|isbn=9780814716540}} (At p. 269.)</ref>  In other words, strict liability is unavailable for defects that merely render the product unusable (or less useful), and hence cause only economic injury, but do not cause personal injury or damage to other property.<ref name="Speidel" /> Breach of warranty actions governed by Article 2 of the Uniform Commercial Code also often fail to provide adequate remedies in such situations.<ref name="Speidel" />

The best-known examples of consumer protection statutes for product defects are [[lemon law]]s, which provide protection to purchasers of defective new vehicles and, in a small number of states, used vehicles.<ref name="Speidel" />  In the United States, "cars are typically the second most valuable asset most people own, outranked only by their home."<ref name="Hagel">{{cite book |last1=Hagel III |first1=John |authorlink1=John Hagel III |last2=Singer |first2=Marc |title=Net Worth: Shaping Markets when Customers Make the Rules |date=1999 |publisher=Harvard Business School Press |location=Boston |isbn=9780875848891 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6qIQahiFMCMC&pg=PA62 |access-date=1 June 2020|pages=62–63}}</ref>