Most of the products we buy are safe to use, but few people realise how many things can go wrong after what seems like a routine purchase. Babies can be injured by faulty cribs or car seats. Toddlers can be exposed to toxic toys. Faulty new tires can lead to car crashes. The list of possible calamities is virtually endless.
If you or someone in your household has been injured by a defective product, our Maryland product liability lawyers can help. Choosing Jaklitsch Law Group for your Maryland personal injury attorneys means you have an award-winning law firm on your side. We protect your rights as we would protect our own.
Defining Product Liability in Maryland
Product liability refers to any business’s obligation to take reasonable steps toward ensuring that its products are safe and will not harm consumers. If they cause harm, they are liable and must compensate injured parties. In general, product liability issues arise for three primary reasons: design defects, manufacturing defects, or distribution and marketing issues.
Design Defects
When a product’s design is inherently flawed, it may not be apparent until testing. One of the root causes of dangerous design defects reaching consumer hands is a lack of testing or quality control (QC). It can be difficult to notice design flaws until product prototypes are tested under a variety of conditions in which consumers may use them.
According to Accendo Reliability, 60 percent of quality issues, and therefore product safety failures, occur in the design phase. In its simplest form, this could be a manufacturer’s failure to identify choking or suffocation hazards in children’s toys. In many instances, it is far more complex.
Manufacturers must consider all the conditions in which consumers may use their products and confirm whether the product is safe to use or fit for purpose. Activities they must undertake include failure mode and effect analysis (FMEA), fault tree analysis (FTA), and the use of risk assessment tools.
Manufacturing Defects
Testing and quality control (QC) should continue throughout manufacturing processes to ensure that hazards and quality issues are not introduced during the manufacturing process. This should be based on a predetermined quality management system (QMS), which stipulates the points in the production process when conformance must be measured and recorded.
When the QMS is inadequate or manufacturers fail to adhere to it, the finished product may not only fail to meet quality standards but also be dangerous to consumers. For example, if a seal that is intended to prevent the ingress of water into an electric or electronic product intended for use in wet conditions is not properly seated, a customer may experience a severe electric shock.
Distribution and Marketing Issues
Manufacturers must stipulate the conditions under which their products must be distributed. Damage sustained during transit may render a product unsafe. For example, certain pharmaceuticals must be transported in conditions where temperatures fall within a specific range. To verify this, they make use of monitoring systems. However, if they fail to do so or the distributor finds a way to conceal an error, the manufacturer or distributor may be liable.
Marketing issues generally refer to compliant product labelling that fails to indicate hazards and conditions in which the product should not be used. The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) sets standards, and these become federal regulations.
For example, eCFR: 16 CFR Part 1250 stipulates that packaging for children’s toys must comply with ASTM F963-23. If a person is harmed because a product’s packaging fails to comply with labelling requirements and fails to warn consumers of possible hazards, there is a very clear case for a product liability lawsuit.
Establishing a Product Liability Claim
Product liability lawsuits are notoriously complex, but the principle of product liability and what must be proved to support compensation claims is relatively simple. Three important elements support product liability claims. Namely:
- The product was defective
- The defect was the direct cause of the plaintiff’s injury
- The plaintiff suffered losses as a result of the injury
Product liability lawsuits follow the principle of strict liability, which means negligence need not be present. Instead, the product must be dangerous, and that danger must have led to injury. Thus, a product that is not necessarily defective but dangerous is all that is required to justify litigation.
Defects may be design flaws, manufacturing faults, a lack of warnings to alert consumers to possible dangers, or a lack of information on how a product should be used. Although negligence is not required to pursue a product liability claim, selling defective products amounts to negligence, and if a person is injured as a result of negligence, those responsible can be held accountable.
Breach of Warranty
Breach of warranty on the part of companies forms an important principle in product liability claims. Under Maryland law, express and implied warranties have distinct definitions that will apply to your case:
- Express warranty: What the manufacturer or distributor directly promises consumers
- Implied warranty: A warranty that is not directly stated but is implied by law. For example, the product is fit for the purpose it is intended to fulfil.
There are two forms of warranty breach: actual and anticipatory. In the former, the seller fails to fulfil its stated promises. In the latter, the seller fails to fulfil the implied warranty that it is required to provide under the law.
Types of Product Liability Cases Jaklitsch Law Group Can Represent
Thanks to our access to experts, there are few product liability cases our Maryland lawyers cannot handle. Some of the more common types of product liability we encounter include:
- Defective vehicles and defective auto parts: For example, you may have been involved in an accident because of defective brake components or a new tire that was not safe to use. This applies regardless of whether you were the customer or another driver caused your accident because of faulty components.
- Faulty home appliances or defective consumer electronics: For instance, a new appliance or device came with faulty wiring or electrical components, leading to electrocution or a house fire, or moving parts can have crushing or amputation hazards.
- Dangerous toys and other children’s products: Manufacturers must exercise extra caution when designing, importing, and distributing children’s products. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. Concerned parents can refer to Kids in Danger (KID) to get tips on safe toy selection or to check existing toy collections for known hazards.
- Harmful pharmaceuticals or medical devices: Harmful drugs can do untold damage, and defective medical devices like hip implants can be faulty. You may struggle to know whether you are confronting medical malpractice, product liability, or both. Your lawyer can help.
- Tools or machinery: Power tools should be designed with safeguards to prevent people from getting hurt. Design flaws or manufacturing faults can lead to terrible injuries.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) maintains and regularly updates a list of recalled products. In May 2025 alone, over 20 safety-related recalls of products that can cause injury or death were initiated. At any given time, the list includes a frightening number of children’s toys and baby items, consumer electronics, and more. Fire and burn hazards, entrapment hazards, and amputation or crushing hazards were frequently cited.
Whatever type of product defect caused your accident, you should proceed with caution. Remember, liable parties will be eager to find reasons to blame you for your injuries. If they can show you were as little as one percent to blame, you may not qualify for compensation. Talk to your lawyer and channel any attempts to communicate with you about the incident toward us.
Compensation for Product Liability in Maryland
You may be wondering how much you can recover in a product liability case. Several factors determine the amount of compensation you can claim. Of these, the severity of your injuries will have the most important effect on all the types of damages you can claim.
Severe injuries not only result in high medical costs but also impact other areas of your life. The compensation you can claim covers all the consequences of injury, including:
- Your medical expenses and the cost of future treatments you will need
- Lost opportunities, such as the cost of being unable to work
- Compensation for pain and suffering caused by your injuries
- Compensation for emotional distress or PTSD following your accident
- Loss of personal enjoyment of life, particularly when injuries have long-term consequences
- In the worst product liability cases, the wrongful death of someone close to you
Punitive damages that are intended to punish the negligent party rather than compensate you for harm rarely apply and are very difficult to win. However, if it can be shown that the defendant was grossly negligent or acted with intent, they may be applicable.
How Long Do You Have to Take Action After Being Injured By a Defective Product?
The amount of time you have to file a claim after an injury is known as a statute of limitations. The relevant Maryland statute is §5–101, and it allows you three years from the date of your injury. There are certain exceptions, but this rule would generally apply.
Our best advice is to get a lawyer as soon as you can after an accident involving a defective product. There is a lot of work to be done before we can build a strong case and file a product liability claim with a good chance of ultimate success.
For example, your product liability attorney in Maryland must identify the exact nature of the defect and identify all the parties who designed, manufactured, and distributed the product. Even when we know that somebody was negligent, we must find out who it was and whether other parties in the supply chain contributed to the accident.
Product Liability Claims Are on the Rise
Increasingly, US consumers are holding big companies responsible for their products. According to Allianz, a large commercial insurer, up to 40 percent of compensation awarded involves product liability. The company notes that besides growth in numbers, it is witnessing a rise in the magnitude of awards to victims.
Although these figures include large class action lawsuits, particularly against pharmaceutical and chemical companies, private citizens have become more aware of their rights. Insurers may find themselves worrying about high product liability compensation costs, but the personal cost to victims is far higher, touching many aspects of their lives.
The message is clear. Businesses must take reasonable steps to ensure their products are safe to use, and they will be held accountable if they fail in this responsibility. No matter how large or how powerful a company is, we are fearless in seeking justice for our clients.
What If the Product That Injured You Was Imported?
The global nature of trade adds additional layers of complexity to the work our product liability attorneys in Maryland must do when seeking compensation. Agreements between importers and their suppliers may come into play.
Many overseas companies do not want to be exposed to product liability risk in the US. An article in Risk Management Magazine notes that they often overcome this barrier by specifying that they are indemnified in the event of legal action. The company that imported and distributed the product must therefore accept liability.
In addition, inadequate warning labels are often important in product liability cases. The importer is generally responsible for distributing compliantly labelled products. If they fail to do so, they would be liable for injuries caused by the omission of important safety advice from the packaging.
Things can get even more complicated, especially if you buy from online platforms like Temu and Amazon. Temu is among the most worrying and has been investigated for selling “deadly” baby items. Typically, platforms claim that they are not responsible for the products they sell since they did not manufacture them, but a recent ruling by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) may be set to change that.
Understanding Who is Accountable in Product Liability Cases
There are many places along a product’s journey where dangerous defects can slip in or should have been noticed. For example, if a power tool is designed without safety guards, manufacturers and later retailers should spot the obvious flaw before facilitating the sale of an unsafe product. Using this example, it may be possible to sue the designer, the manufacturer, and the retailer.
In general, we can say that:
- Designers are liable if their design flaws lead to unsafe products.
- Manufacturers are responsible for how products are made. If their errors lead to unsafe products or they knowingly manufacture an unsafe product, they are liable.
- Retailers can be held liable for selling dangerous products.
If all these parties share some responsibility, action should be brought against them. They can decide among themselves what percentage of liability they should bear, and if they cannot agree on it, a judge can determine this for them.
Jaklitsch Law Group Advances Its Knowledge in the Ever-Evolving Field of Product Liability And Will Fight For You
Product liability claims imply a high level of intricacy and require careful investigation and a systematic approach. It is a constantly evolving area to which each new technology adds a new dimension. For example, the first lawsuits concerning AI “companions” and their potentially negative effects on teens are gaining momentum, and self-driving features in cars are leading to an avalanche of product liability lawsuits.
Jacklitsch Law Group is well-prepared to match the march of technology, working to hold companies accountable for the consequences of their errors and oversights. From choking hazards to the negative impacts of the latest technologies, we are both ready and able to fight for our clients. If you need a product liability lawyer in Maryland, our experience and tenacity will benefit your case. Simply contact us to schedule a free consultation.
