Phoenix Arizona Products Liability — When a Defective Product Injures You

Every product you buy — from the tires on your car to the medication in your cabinet — should be safe for its intended use. When a product is defective and causes injury, Arizona law holds the entire chain of commerce responsible: the manufacturer, the distributor, and the retailer.

Three Types of Product Defects

Arizona products liability claims fall into three categories:

Defective Design. The product was designed in a way that makes it inherently dangerous. The defect exists in every unit produced, not just yours. Example: a vehicle model with a roof structure that collapses too easily in rollover accidents.

Defective Manufacturing. The design is fine, but something went wrong during production that made your specific product dangerous. Example: a tire with a manufacturing flaw that causes it to blow out at highway speed.

Failure to Warn. The product is dangerous in ways that aren’t obvious, and the manufacturer failed to provide adequate warnings or instructions. Example: a medication that causes serious side effects not listed on the label.

Strict Liability in Arizona

Arizona applies strict liability to products liability cases under the Restatement (Second) of Torts § 402A, as adopted by the Arizona Supreme Court. This means you don’t have to prove the manufacturer was negligent — only that the product was defective, the defect existed when it left the manufacturer’s control, the defect caused your injury, and you were using the product in a reasonably foreseeable way.

This is a lower bar than a standard negligence claim. You don’t have to show what the manufacturer did wrong — just that the product was defective and it hurt you.

Who Can Be Held Liable?

Arizona’s products liability framework allows you to sue anyone in the distribution chain: the product designer, the manufacturer, the component parts supplier, the distributor or wholesaler, and the retailer who sold you the product. This matters because sometimes the manufacturer is a foreign company that’s hard to reach in U.S. courts. Being able to sue the domestic retailer or distributor gives you a viable path to compensation.

Damages in Products Liability Cases

If you’re injured by a defective product, you can recover medical expenses and future treatment, lost wages and diminished earning capacity, pain and suffering, and in cases involving willful disregard for safety, punitive damages. Products liability cases involving serious injuries — burns, amputations, brain injuries, or death — can result in substantial awards.

What to Do If a Defective Product Injures You

Preserve the product. Don’t throw it away, repair it, or return it. The defective product is the most critical piece of evidence. Take photos of the product, the defect if visible, and your injuries. Save all packaging, receipts, and manuals. Report the injury to the manufacturer and to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) at SaferProducts.gov. Seek medical attention and tell your doctor exactly what product caused the injury.

Then contact an attorney. Products liability cases require expert analysis — engineers, metallurgists, pharmacologists — and the manufacturers will fight hard with teams of defense lawyers. The Law Badgers have the litigation experience to take on these cases.