Here’s how New York handles product liability cases, laid out in clear terms for both legal eagles and everyday folks:
When products hurt people in New York, the law steps in.
Manufacturers, stores, and everyone in between can be held responsible. Here’s the deal:
You’ve got three main ways to sue: strict liability (where you don’t have to prove anyone messed up, just that the product was bad), negligence (showing someone dropped the ball), and warranty breaches (they promised X but delivered Y). Under existing statutes, the abovementioned claims must satisfy specific elements prescribed by law.
Products can be defective in design (fundamentally flawed), manufacturing (made wrong), or warnings (didn’t tell you about dangers). The burden of proof lies with the plaintiff to demonstrate: (a) the product was defective; (b) said defect existed at distribution; and (c) injuries resulted therefrom.
Time limits are crucial. You get 3 years for injuries and 2 for wrongful death, according to CPLR § 214. You miss these deadlines and are out of luck; there are no exceptions.
Here’s something interesting: even if you were partly at fault, you can still recover damages. New York’s pure comparative negligence rule means your share of the blame reduces your compensation. So if you’re 30% responsible, you still get 70% of damages.
Money-wise, you can get back medical bills, lost wages (that’s economic damages), plus compensation for pain and suffering (non-economic). In nasty cases where companies acted terribly, courts might award extra punishment money.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, defendants maintain certain affirmative defenses, including but not limited to product misuse, assumption of risk, and statute of limitations.
Smart people gather evidence and medical records before filing a suit. Most people get a lawyer because this stuff gets complicated quickly.
That’s the straight talk on product liability in New York, no sugarcoating.
