Question

Shannon bought a new hair straightener made by Vital Solutions, Inc. Two months after the purchase, as Shannon was using her straightener, the item became extremely hot and burned her hair to the roots and caused a burn on her forehead, causing a permanent scar. Shannon filed a suit against Vital, alleging that a design defect caused the product to overheat and creating an unreasonable safety hazard. Can Shannon succeed on a strict product liability claim? What elements must she show in order to recover?

Answer 1

A strict product liability claim is justified in any of the following instances/cases:

1. The user is injured during the usage of the product or he/she suffered losses while/after using the product. Shannon while using the hair straightener made by Vital Solutions Inc, burned her hair to the roots and caused a burn on her forehead, causing a permanent scar, which is self-explanatory.

2. The product used by the user is defective / not usable at all; As Shannon tried using hair straightener, she was seriously injured which was a result of a defective design of the product which caused it to overheat.

3. Since the product was defective, it caused injury to the user who bought the product

4. The user was using the product as it was intended to be used. In our case, Shannon tried to strainghten her hair using the hair straightener she bought.

There are actually three types of product defects for claims to be made by the user/consumer: Manufacturing Defects, Design Defects and marketing defects. In this case, there can be either a manufacturing defect or a design defect. Any of the theories of liability can be used to prove that the product was defectively designed or defectively manufactured or that the manufacturer failed to warn the possible danger associated with using the hair straightener.

A strict product liability, as per the law, states - Anyone who sells any product in a defective condition unreasonably dangerous to teh user/consumer or to his/her property is subject to liability for physical harm thereby caused to the ultimate user/consumer or to his/her property, if a) the seller is engaged in the business of selling such a product and, b) it is expected to and does reach the user without substantial change in the condition in which it is sold.

Therefore, Shannon can surely succeed on her strict product liability claim.

In order to recover her loss, she has to show some proofs which are called as 'elements' in the claim:

* Shannon was badly injured as her hair got burned to the roots and caused a burn on her forehead causing a permanent scar.

* the product hair straightener was defective and it got overheated upon using

* This defect of overheating of hair straightener caused injury to Shannon

* Shannon was using the product as it was intended

Ofcourse, she needs to show the documentary proof as supporting documents, which are mainly Customer's copy of the Invoice and warranty card. The Invoice must carry all the information about the seller, brand of the product made by Vital Solutions Inc, date of purchase and the amount paid.

Therefore, Shannon must show the above mentioned elements to get the recovery of her claims against the company Vital Solutions Inc.