Motorcycle Parts Product Liability in Los Angeles California

According to California Product Liability Laws, any person who designs, produces or sells a defective product is strictly liable for the damages by the product.  This will further explain the following in motorcycle parts product liability.

Elements the Plaintiff Must Prove

Generally, a plaintiff must be able to establish the following elements, to prevail on a claim for products liability in California,

• Defendant designed, distributed, manufactured, or sold a defective product
• Product contained the defect when it left the defendant’s possession
• Plaintiff used the product in a reasonably foreseeable manner
• As a result of the defect the plaintiff suffered harm

Strict Product Liability in California

Under the strict liability law, it is not a requirement for the plaintiff to demonstrate the defendant’s negligence. Under the law, if the plaintiff got any injuries as a result of the defendant, then the defendant is labile for the injuries, with or without negligence.

Types of Claims Under Strict Product Liability

There are essentially three types of claims under strict product liability:

• Manufacturing defect claims, which involve a defect in a specific item produced
• Design defect claims, which involve a defect in the design of an entire product line
• Failure to warn claims, which involve the defendant’s liability for improperly warning the plaintiff about the hazards of using the product

Manufacturing Defect Claims

In manufacturing defect claims, if you can compare the product in question with another product in the same line within the manufacturer, the product falls into manufacturing defect claim. So, the product presented a harm which actually was a result of the manufacturing defects.

Design Defect Claims

If the plaintiff asserts that the defect is in all the same product line, then it falls under design defect claims. In California, there are two test in defective design product liability claims:

• The Risk-Benefit Test

According to this test, after the plaintiff shows that the defective product design caused the injuries, the burden of proof completely shifts to the defendant. The defendant must prove that the utility of the defective product design outweighs the risk of the design and in case he fails to do that, then the plaintiff will win the case.

• The Consumer Expectations Test

According to this test a product’s design will be considered defective in case it fails to perform as safely as an ordinary consumer would expect it to perform.

Failure to Warn Claim

According to California strict product liability, a defendant who is aware that the consumer is using the product in a reasonably foreseeable manner that exposes him to a risk of injuries is obliged to warn the consumer of the risk of injury or harm.

The defendant can be liable for a failure to warn when such failure to change the outcome.

So, in case a typical consumer is aware of the risk of injuries or harm on his own, then the defendant can’t be found liable for failing to warn of an already-known hazard. Get in touch with our Los Angeles motorcycle accident attorneys for more information and a free consultation!