Suing for Product Liability? How Breach of Warranty AffectsYou

Have you been injured or suffered losses due to a product defect? Getting the compensation you deserve often involves a complicated lawsuit regarding product liability. And one of the major parts of many product liability cases is the aspect of breach of warranty. What is a breach of warranty? And how can you prove that such a fault exists? Here is a short guide to get you started.

What Is Breach of Express Warranty?

An express warranty is what most people would think of when they hear the word warranty . It is generally a written promise that the product is suited for the stated or promoted purpose and that the manufacturer offers specific remedies if it fails.

Your refrigerator probably came with a written express warranty that delineated how to get a refund or replacement if the refrigerator failed to keep food cold. There is often a time limit on these warranties and you may have to register as a buyer to receive certain compensation.

A breach of express warranty, then, would be a clear failure of something stated in this written or oral guarantee. If the refrigerator fails to keep food at the desired temperature even though it is in working order, it has violated this express warranty and you have a case that the manufacturer is at fault.

What Is Breach of Implied Warranty?

Implied warranties are less specific and less obvious, but they are predicated on one simple expectation: that the manufacturer selling goods for an intended purpose implies that their goods will fill that purpose. A refrigerator manufacturer selling their product to a family automatically implies that its refrigerator is up to the task of keeping cold food safe at needed temperatures. If the refrigerator fails to do that basic function - with or without an express warranty - you may have a case.

Implied warranties come in two basic flavors. A warranty of merchantability is the expectation that the goods are fit for general sale and are of at least average quality. The refrigerator is, for instance, expected to have the ability to stay upright in normal circumstances. If a design defect makes it unstable and it falls on the customer, the manufacturer may have violated the implied warranty of merchantability.

The second type of implied warranty is warranty of fitness for a particular use that may not be what the product is generally used for. If you need a refrigerator that reaches a specific temperature for a certain period of time - in order to keep food safe while on the go, for example - and the salesperson says that this unit will do that, its failure could be a breach of the implied warranty of fitness.

How Can You Prove a Breach?

Breach of express warranty is the most cut-and-dried type. To prove it was breached, you would delineate the contents of the written or recorded guarantee and then compare it to your experience.

Proving implied warranty is generally much more complex because things are not in writing. In the refrigerator example, an argument that the salesperson said that the unit was fit for your particular needs may be very difficult to back up with evidence. In this case, you may have need to have witnesses or written follow-ups to help your case.

Some implied warranties, though, can be less challenging since they include what an average customer would expect in the goods. Customers generally expect a residential refrigerator to be safe for a family to use in day-to-day life. If the design of yours, though, is unsafe for children, you likely have a good case for breach even if the warranty doesn't specifically address this matter.