This article is part of Vail Law’s open-source litigation and legal risk management checklist. Connect with me on LinkedIn.
Product liability is a complex area of law. As tempting as it is to write a “comprehensive” checklist series on product liability law, it's also essential that your lawyer can tell you honestly if they aren't the best person for a given practice area. The best person, if you really want to understand product liability law, or want excellent defense counsel, is the man who literally wrote the book: Jordan Lipp at Childs McCune. Or buy his book, Product Liability Law & Procedure in Colorado 2d Ed. (2019). (non-affiliate link).
That said, here are the basic elements of liability for strict product liability in Colorado:
(1) The defendant was a manufacturer of (the product);
(2) The defendant was engaged in the business of selling such (product or component) for resale, use, or consumption;
(3) The defendant sold the (product or component in question in this case);
(4) The (product or component part) was defective, and because of the defect was unreasonably dangerous to plaintiff, who might reasonably be expected to use, consume, or be affected by it;
(5) The product or component was defective at the tie it was sold by the defendant or left his/her control;
(6) The product or component was expected to reach the user or consumer without substantial change in the condition in which it was sold;
(7) The product or component did reach the user or consumer without substantial change in the condition in which it was sold;
(8) The plaintiff was a person who would reasonably be expected to use, consume, or be affected by the product or component;
(9) The plaintiff had damages; and
(10) The defect in the product or component was the cause of the plaintiff’s damages.
CJI-Civ. 14:1 (2018).
View Vail Law’s complete litigation and legal risk management checklist or contact us to discuss your claims in detail.