Plain language
Product liability and defect glossary
Product cases focus on the condition of the item, how it reached the user, the warnings supplied, alternative causes, and the law of the relevant state. These terms help organize that analysis.
Published August 23, 2026 · Last reviewed August 23, 2026
- Causation
- The connection between the defendant's conduct or product and the injury. A case can fail even when conduct was careless if the available evidence does not connect that conduct to the harm claimed.
- Chain of distribution
- The path a product followed from manufacturer through distributors, wholesalers, sellers, installers, or lessors to the user.
- Damages
- The losses a claim seeks to recover. Depending on the facts and governing law, these can include medical costs, lost income, future care, pain, disability, disfigurement, or loss of support.
- Defendant
- The person or organization against whom a civil claim is made. One incident can involve several possible defendants with different duties and insurance policies.
- Design defect
- A claim that the product line's design created an unreasonable risk. States use different legal tests for assessing design claims. Read the related guide.
- Failure to warn
- A claim that instructions or warnings did not adequately communicate a non-obvious product risk. Adequacy and causation are separate questions.
- Liability
- Legal responsibility for an injury. Liability depends on the applicable law and provable facts, not simply on whether someone was hurt.
- Manufacturing defect
- A claim that a particular unit departed from its intended design or specifications when it left the responsible party's control.
- Product recall
- A corrective action concerning a product that may violate safety requirements or present a risk. A recall can be relevant without conclusively proving a civil claim. Read the related guide.
- Spoliation
- Destruction, loss, alteration, or failure to preserve evidence when a duty to preserve applies. Returning or discarding the product can become a central issue.
- Statute of limitations
- A law that limits the time for filing a claim. The deadline varies by state, claim type, defendant, and sometimes the date the injury was or could reasonably have been discovered.
- Statute of repose
- A deadline measured from an event such as sale, delivery, or construction rather than discovery of the injury. Some states apply repose periods to product claims. Read the related guide.
- Substantial change
- An alteration to the product after it left a defendant's control that may affect defect, causation, or available defenses.
Terms are not conclusions
A definition explains a concept; it does not establish that the concept applies to a particular event. State law, contracts, medical records, product identity, insurance language, and other facts can change the analysis.
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