Product Liability Lawyer in Miami

Product liability law allows a person injured by a defective product to sue the manufacturer, distributor, and (in some cases) seller of the product. Florida product liability cases are technically and financially demanding — they often require expert engineering testimony, exemplar testing, and complex economic analysis — but they are also among the most important cases in the personal injury system because they create the financial incentive for manufacturers to design and produce safer products. If you or a loved one has been hurt by a defective product anywhere in Miami-Dade, Broward, or Monroe County, an experienced Florida product liability lawyer can help.

Three Theories of Product Liability in Florida

Florida recognizes three distinct theories under which a manufacturer or distributor can be held liable for a defective product:

• Strict liability. Florida follows § 402A of the Restatement (Second) of Torts. A manufacturer is liable for harm caused by a product that was sold in a defective condition unreasonably dangerous to the user, regardless of whether the manufacturer was negligent. The plaintiff need not prove fault — only that the product was defective and that the defect caused the injury.
• Negligence. The traditional theory: the manufacturer or seller failed to exercise reasonable care in design, manufacture, warning, or distribution.
• Breach of warranty. Express warranties (specific representations about the product) and implied warranties (of merchantability and of fitness for a particular purpose) under Florida's Uniform Commercial Code, Chapter 672.

Three Categories of Product Defect

• Design defects. The product is unsafe as designed — even if manufactured exactly as intended. Examples include vehicles prone to rollover, products with inadequate safeguards, and machinery without required interlocks.
• Manufacturing defects. The product is defective because something went wrong in the manufacturing process — a single unit or batch deviating from the intended design.
• Failure-to-warn / marketing defects. The product is defective because the manufacturer failed to provide adequate warnings about non-obvious hazards or adequate instructions for safe use.

Common Florida Product Liability Cases

• Defective vehicles — fuel-system fires, airbag failures (Takata), defective seatbelts, roof crush in rollovers, sudden acceleration, tire failures
• Lithium-ion battery fires — e-cigarettes, e-bikes, e-scooters, hoverboards, laptops, phone batteries
• Defective medical devices — hip and knee implants, surgical mesh, pacemakers, IVC filters
• Defective drugs — pharmaceutical products that cause unwarned-of injuries
• Defective consumer products — appliances, power tools, ATVs, recreational equipment
• Defective workplace machinery — industrial equipment without proper guards, defective forklifts and skid-steers
• Defective children's products — toys, car seats, cribs, infant carriers
• Defective marine products — particularly important in South Florida — boat fuel systems, propellers, navigation equipment

Florida's Statute of Repose for Products

Florida has a 12-year statute of repose for product liability claims, codified at § 95.031(2)(b). This generally bars actions against the manufacturer commenced more than 12 years after delivery of the product to the original purchaser, regardless of when the injury occurred. There are several important exceptions: the statute of repose does not apply to defective drugs, certain aircraft and railroad products, products with extended warranties, products with known latent defects, and a handful of other categories. The 12-year clock and its exceptions are technical, and analysis of when a particular product was first delivered (and to whom) is often a critical early issue.

Statute of Limitations

For product liability injuries occurring on or after March 24, 2023, Florida's statute of limitations is two years from the date of the injury or, in latent-injury cases, from the date the injury was or should have been discovered. The two-year period applies in addition to the 12-year statute of repose — both must be satisfied.

Damages

Damages in a Florida product liability case can include past and future medical expenses, lost wages and earning capacity, pain and suffering, mental anguish, permanent impairment, loss of enjoyment of life, and (in fatal cases) Florida Wrongful Death Act damages. Punitive damages may be available where the manufacturer acted with gross negligence or intentional misconduct — for example, where the company knew its product was dangerously defective and chose to continue selling it without warnings.

Why Product Cases Require Specialized Resources

Product cases generally cost more to develop than ordinary negligence cases. They require engineering experts (mechanical, electrical, biomechanical, materials), exemplar testing of the product and similar products, accident reconstruction, and (in pharmaceutical and medical device cases) medical and regulatory experts. Total costs in a single case can easily exceed $100,000 to $500,000 before trial. We accept these cases on contingency and advance all costs.

Design Defect — Risk-Utility vs. Consumer Expectation

Florida design-defect law has evolved over the last decade away from the older "consumer expectation" test and toward the "risk-utility" framework adopted in Aubin v. Union Carbide Corp., 177 So. 3d 489 (Fla. 2015). Under the risk-utility analysis, the jury weighs the likelihood and severity of harm caused by the product against the burden and feasibility of an alternative safer design. Practical questions the analysis raises include: Was a safer alternative design technologically and economically feasible at the time of manufacture? Did competitors produce a safer version? Did the manufacturer's own engineers flag the risk internally? Were comparable products subject to government safety standards or industry consensus standards (ANSI, ASTM, SAE, UL) that the defendant ignored? Internal product-safety memoranda, design-review minutes, and post-sale complaint files often supply the strongest evidence of a defective design — and obtaining those documents in discovery is one of the central battles of any Florida products case.

The Learned-Intermediary Doctrine for Drugs and Devices

Florida applies the learned-intermediary doctrine in prescription drug and prescription medical-device cases. The manufacturer's duty to warn runs to the prescribing physician — not directly to the patient — because the physician is uniquely positioned to weigh the warnings against the patient's individual condition. The doctrine does not insulate manufacturers when the warnings provided to physicians are themselves inadequate, when the manufacturer overpromotes the product to physicians in ways that undercut the labeled risks, or when the manufacturer markets directly to consumers without adequate consumer-facing warnings. Direct-to-consumer pharmaceutical advertising, common in South Florida cable markets, has eroded the doctrine in some cases.

Preserving the Product Itself

The single most important step in a Florida products liability case is preserving the product. Once the manufacturer or its experts get hold of the suspect item, the analysis becomes a dispute between competing engineering opinions on whether the product was defective. When the plaintiff controls the product, the analysis starts from the actual condition of the device at the time of failure. Practical guidance for clients:

• Do not return the product to the retailer for refund or exchange
• Do not allow the insurance adjuster or fire investigator to take possession without a written chain-of-custody agreement
• If a fire is involved, demand that all suspect components be preserved by the fire department or independent investigator
• Photograph the product in place, from every angle, before anything is moved
• Keep packaging, instructions, warning labels, and proof of purchase
• Identify the model number, serial number, lot number, and date of manufacture

A spoliation-of-evidence letter sent to the manufacturer, retailer, and any other potential defendant within days of retention helps preserve key documentary evidence and corporate testimony.

Apportionment of Fault Among the Distribution Chain

Florida § 768.81(3) requires the jury to apportion fault among all parties — including non-party tortfeasors identified through a "Fabre notice." In a products case the typical chain runs from raw-material supplier to component manufacturer to product assembler to distributor to retailer to end-user. Each link can be a separate defendant or a separately-apportioned non-party. The plaintiff's strategy is often to keep multiple defendants in the case to avoid empty-chair arguments at trial. Defendants frequently file cross-claims for indemnity and contribution among themselves, and these inter-defendant disputes can drive favorable settlements when properly leveraged.

Common Defense Tactics in Products Cases

• Misuse and modification. Defense argues the plaintiff used the product in a way not reasonably foreseeable, or modified it after sale.
• State-of-the-art. Defense argues the design met the highest practicable level of safety technology and feasibility at the time of manufacture.
• Sophisticated user / sophisticated purchaser. In workplace cases, defense argues the warning duty was discharged through the employer.
• Federal preemption. Pre-market-approved medical devices (Class III) and certain pesticide and aviation cases face express or implied preemption defenses under federal law.
• Alteration of the product after manufacture. Defense argues the defective condition was introduced after the product left the manufacturer's hands.

What to Do After a Product Injury

• Seek immediate medical care and document every symptom
• Preserve the product, packaging, and any related instructions
• Photograph the scene and the product in place
• Save proof of purchase and any product registration
• Look up the product on the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission's recall database at saferproducts.gov
• Do not discuss the case on social media
• Decline to give statements or sign releases offered by the manufacturer's claims department
• Contact counsel before any inspection of the product

Frequently Asked Questions

What if the product was recalled?

A recall is strong evidence of a defect but is not legally dispositive. Manufacturers sometimes argue the recall addressed a different condition than the one that caused the plaintiff's injury. We obtain the full recall file and supporting CPSC or NHTSA documentation to lock the issue down.

Can I sue if the retailer sold me the product?

Yes. Florida allows claims against retailers and distributors in the chain of distribution, though Florida's "sealed container" defense under § 768.1257 protects retailers who sold the product in its sealed manufacturer's container without opportunity to inspect, except for breach-of-warranty claims.

What if I was using the product when injured?

Florida's comparative-fault rule under § 768.81 still applies. If your share of fault is 50% or less, you may recover with damages reduced proportionally. Above 50%, you recover nothing.

If you or a loved one has been injured by a defective product anywhere in South Florida, contact the Law Offices of Albert Goodwin. Call 786-522-1411 or email [email protected] for a free consultation.