Indiana Product Liability Law

Liability refers to a situation in which a person or entity is held responsible under the law for damages caused by their actions. When an improperly designed, defectively manufactured, or inadequately labeled product causes injury, death, or property damage, the product’s manufacturer or seller of the product may be liable or legally responsible for the damage.

The Indiana Product Liability Act (IPLA) governs Indiana product liability cases. This article covers the basics of product liability, what the IPLA has to say about proving and defending Indiana product liability cases, and how compensation is determined under Indiana law.

Three Things to Know About Product Liability

First, let’s cover the basics of product liability law in Indiana. Here are three fundamental things to remember.

Products Should Be Safe for Consumers

Companies—usually manufacturers but sometimes sellers—that make or distribute products have a responsibility to protect consumers from defective materials and products. They must provide an adequate warning when improper use of a product can lead to injury. If they fail to do so, they may be liable for any injuries that result from using their products.

Product liability law applies when someone suffers physical harm while using a product that, by law, should have been safe.

Product Liability Law Covers Many Products

Product liability law is a broad practice area covering a wide array of products. Here’s a list of some of the product types that fall under product liability law:

• Products made for children, such as car seats, cribs, and toys
• Food products, perishable or nonperishable
• Household products, such as batteries and appliances
• Prescription medications, medical devices, medical implants, and birth control patches
• Automobile tires, brakes, seat belts, and other safety equipment

List of Recalled Products Published Regularly

When a manufacturer becomes aware of a hazard associated with one of their products, they may voluntarily recall all such improperly designed or defective units. Sometimes  you may be notified by the manufacturer if you bought a recalled product, but in many cases, a manufacturer can’t notify every consumer of a recall. The US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) maintains a list of products that manufacturers have recalled due to defects that have caused serious harm. However, although the CPSC list is a great resource for consumers, it may not include every dangerous or defective product.

What Do I Need to Know About the Indiana Product Liability Act?

Product liability law varies from state to state. In this section, we’ll cover some specific provisions in the Indiana Product Liability Act. This law governs product liability lawsuits in Indiana.

What Kind of Legal Actions Are Covered by the IPLA?

The IPLA applies to any legal action:

1. Initiated by a user or consumer
2. Against a manufacturer or seller
3. For physical harm caused by a product

Physical harm includes personal injury or death and damage to a user or consumer’s property.

How Do I Know If I’m Entitled to Product Liability Damages?

Suppose you’ve been injured or your property was damaged because of a defective product. You may have a product liability case, but certain conditions apply. This section presents a rundown of the most important aspects of Indiana product liability law. We encourage you to contact one of Wilson Kehoe Winingham’s experienced product liability attorneys for a free consultation regarding your case.

How Does the Law Define What Is a Defective Product?

The IPLA says a product is defective if the product is dangerous to you when used in reasonably expected ways.

Manufacturers can defend themselves against product liability claims if they can show  that you altered or misused their product. In addition, a product cannot be considered defective if it is impossible to make it safe for its reasonably expected use.

Categories of Product Liability Cases

Product liability cases fall under three categories:

1. Manufacturing flaws
2. Defective product design
3. Inadequate warnings or instructions

Suppose you were injured because of a manufacturing flaw in a product. The maker is liable even if they used reasonable care in the production process.

However, if you were injured because of a defective product design or inadequate product warnings or instructions, you must prove that the manufacturer did not use reasonable care in designing the product or writing the product warnings or instructions.

Manufacturers Versus Sellers

A product manufacturer is liable for injuries caused by a defective product they produce, even if the product is only a part of a larger product. However, liability is more complicated for sellers.

Sellers are not liable for defective products or parts if they are not the manufacturer. An exception to this is when the court does not have jurisdiction over the manufacturer of a defective product. In such a case, if a seller is the primary distributor of the product, the court may consider them to be the product’s manufacturer.

What Is the Indiana Product Liability Statute of Limitations?

According to the IPLA, a product liability action must be initiated within two years after the injury or property damage caused by the defective product; this is known as the  statute of limitations.

What Is the Indiana Product Liability Statute of Repose?

In addition to the statute of limitations, the IPLA says that a product liability action must be initiated within ten years after the consumer or user receives the defective product.

In other words, suppose you purchase a defective product and use it for ten years. Then, after ten years, you are injured because of a product defect. In this case, the statute of repose indicates that you cannot initiate a product liability claim.

However, the IPLA also says that if a defective product causes injury or property damage after you’ve had the product between eight and ten years, you have two years from the time of the incident to initiate a product liability claim, even if your suit begins beyond the ten years of the statute of repose.

Determination of Fault in Product Liability Cases in Indiana

The Indiana Comparative Fault Act (ICFA) lays out how fault is determined in Indiana product liability cases. Indiana law uses a legal principle called modified comparative fault to assign blame in product liability suits. This is important because damages are awarded based on how the judge or jury in a case assigns fault.

First, the judge or jury in a suit considers what share of fault for an incident should be assigned to the defendant(s), the plaintiff, and any other party (even if the other party is not named in the suit).

The plaintiff’s share of fault is called a contributory fault. If you are injured while using a defective product but are partly to blame for your injury, you may be assigned contributory fault. If your contributory fault is 50% or more of the total fault in the incident, you are not eligible to collect damages.

If your share of the fault is less than 50%, then the judge or jury proceeds to determine the total amount of damages without considering contributory fault. The damages awarded are equal to the total amount of damages multiplied by the percentage of fault that was not assigned to you.

Expert Witnesses

Generally, witnesses in a trial can only testify about facts they observed; they are not allowed to give their opinion. Expert witnesses are an exception to this. Because of their expertise in a subject related to the trial, the role of an expert witness is to assess the evidence and offer their expert opinion. An expert witness can also assist in the investigation and preparation of arguments before a trial begins.

Class Action Lawsuits

Class action lawsuits allow groups to pursue damages. Here’s how class action lawsuits work: one person represents a group of people (perhaps hundreds or even thousands of claimants) that were all similarly harmed and have a similar legal claim.

If many people have similar claims about a defective product from a certain manufacturer, it may be more efficient to pursue a class action lawsuit than for each individual to sue separately. This is especially true if each individual claim is for a small amount of damages on its own.

What to Do If You’ve Been Harmed by a Defective Product

If you or a loved one suffered an injury or property damage and you believe that the harm was caused by a defective product, we strongly urge you to discuss the matter with an attorney.

It is also advisable to save the item(s) that malfunctioned or did not work properly and any materials related to the event: clothes, property, and pictures of the injured person. It’s also important to keep the packaging and paperwork that came with the product. These items will help an attorney identify the manufacturer responsible for the injuries and build your case.

Contact a Product Liability Attorney Today

If you or a loved one have been injured because of a defective product, contact the Indianapolis product liability attorneys of Wilson Kehoe Winingham. The lawyers at WKW can help you recover damages. Call 317.920.6400 or fill out an online contact form for a free, no-obligation case evaluation.

 

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