Product Liability
Technical evidence and legal analysis for claims involving allegedly defective products.
We advise and represent clients in product liability disputes involving bodily injury or damage to property. Our work examines the product, the alleged mechanism of failure and the roles of the manufacturer, importer, supplier, installer and other participants. The legal analysis is developed around the type of damage claimed and the basis on which responsibility is alleged.
- Alleged product defects
- Bodily injury and property damage
- Technical evidence
- Supply-chain recovery
Identifying the failure and preserving evidence
We assess the available evidence concerning design, manufacture, installation, maintenance and use. Physical inspection, testing, instructions and records of earlier faults may be important in distinguishing a product defect from misuse, installation error or an external cause. Evidence preservation is considered before repairs, disposal or destructive testing affect the ability to establish what happened.
Selecting the applicable liability analysis
Bodily injury claims and property damage claims require attention to different legal questions; the legal basis of one is not assumed to govern the other. We examine the pleaded causes of action, the relationship between the parties, causation and the recoverability of the particular loss. The possible responsibility of several parties is assessed against their actual involvement and any relevant contractual allocation of risk.
Coverage, defence and recovery
We review the relevant product liability and other potentially responsive insurance, including the relationship between the alleged event and the policy’s operative terms. Technical expert evidence informs the defence and the assessment of quantum. Where an insurer has indemnified a property loss, we also assess the evidence and legal basis for a recovery claim against the party responsible for the product or its installation.