Quick knowledge: Defective product liability

September 25, 2026

Products liability is an area of tort law where the manufacturers, designers, distributors, suppliers, and retailers are all held accountable for the injuries, damages, or deaths that their products cause. Any person or entity in the chain of supply of a product from its initial design, all the way to its sale, are responsible for any harm it may cause as the result of a defect. The user of a product doesn’t even have to be the person who purchased it; it could be a gift, borrowed, or the person injured could be an innocent bystander. If you or a family member was injured by a product, you may be entitled to compensation for your medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering.

Many products we use on a daily basis have the potential to be defective and cause serious personal injury to the people who use them. There are numerous dangerous products and defective products on the market and new products are being added to recall lists every day. Sacramento consumers purchase and use an enormous amount of products each year. Defective or faulty products have the ability to cause personal injury, property damage, and even the death

While there are thousands of safe and reliable products used each day, there are also thousands of people hurt or killed by defective products in the United States every year. Over 22,000 deaths and 29 million injuries are reported by the Consumer Product Safety Commission annually.

Under product liability law, companies are held responsible for dangerous or defective products. If one of their products causes harm to its user, they must pay compensation for medical bills, pain and suffering, lost wages and other expenses. In many cases, major manufacturers will refuse to provide compensation, fearing the possibility of a large scale recall or other lawsuits from people who suffered similar injuries. An experienced Sacramento product liability attorney is needed to make these companies do what is right. At the Crow Law Offices, a law firm serving Sacramento and the surrounding areas, our products liability lawyers have extensive experience in representing people injured by dangerous or defective products.

Some Common Defective Products

• Combustible appliances
• Unsafe children’s toys
• Toxic cleaning products
• Defective smoke detectors
• Poorly manufactured furniture
• In your car, almost any automobile part has the potential to cause harm, or cause an automobile accident, motorcycle accident, or truck accident
• Defective products also include thousands of potentially dangerous pharmaceutical drugs and over the counter medications
• Medical devices, drugs and pharmaceuticals can cause unexpected adverse effects or death
• Food can be recalled after being tainted or improperly handled, leading to consumer health problems or even death
• Hospital beds or beds in nursing homes or long-term care facilities can have dangerous bed rails that cause entrapments
• Household products like clothing, kitchen appliances, power tools, lawn mowers and accessories can malfunction or harm children, adults or bystanders