The Garden State takes consumer safety seriously when it comes to faulty products. If you get hurt by something that doesn’t work right, New Jersey law has your back – and the companies that made or sold it need to answer for it.
Per N.J.S.A. § 2A:58C-1 et seq. (the Product Liability Act), you’ve got options if a product causes harm. The law cuts through the usual red tape – you don’t have to prove the company was careless, just that their product was defective and hurt you.
Here’s what counts as “defective” under Jersey law:
Sometimes it’s baked into the design itself – the product is just fundamentally unsafe, even when built perfectly to spec. Other times, something goes wrong during manufacturing, like a crucial bolt that wasn’t tightened properly. Then there’s the “they should have told me” scenario – when a company doesn’t properly warn you about risks that aren’t obvious.
While the law generally favors consumers, manufacturers aren’t defenseless. Let’s say you decided to use your new blender as a hammer – that’s on you. Or if you knew the risks but went ahead anyway… well, you might have a harder time winning your case.
Bottom line: If a product hurts you in New Jersey, the law doesn’t make you jump through hoops proving negligence. But you’ll still need to show the product was defective and that’s what caused your injury. Pretty straightforward.
