Under the theory of strict liability, the law imposes a special duty on manufacturers and distributors to make sure that products placed in the stream of commerce are not unreasonably dangerous. To recover under strict liability, an injured party must prove that a product was defective, and it makes no difference whether the manufacturer acted reasonably. A product may be defective if it contains either a manufacturing or design defect or if there was a failure to warn. Any of these theories can be the basis for recovery. A manufacturing defect results from production flaws.
Manufacturing defects occur in many ways.
Vital components may be omitted or damaged. Components may be improperly assembled. For example, a chair would have a manufacturing defect if one of its legs were inadvertently constructed from split or weakened wood, which caused the chair to collapse under a person s weight. A design defect occurs where products are manufactured exactly as planned, but the manufacturing design resulted in the product being unreasonably dangerous. For example, the failure to include safety shut-off switch on a chain saw might render the entire design defective and unreasonably dangerous.