Florida Product Liability Lawyer

We trust the products we use every day — our cars, our medications, our children's car seats, the tools in the garage — to be reasonably safe. When one of them fails and causes serious injury, Florida law lets the injured person hold the makers and sellers accountable. But product cases are technical: they turn on the type of defect, the chain of companies that put the product in your hands, and strict deadlines. Kaiser Romanello, P.A. has represented injured Floridians since 2002. This page explains how these claims work.

Three Ways a Product Can Be Defective

Florida recognizes three distinct kinds of product defect, and a single case can involve more than one:

• Manufacturing defect. The product left the factory different from its intended design — a flaw in that specific unit, like a cracked weld or a contaminated batch.
• Design defect. The product was built as intended, but the design itself is unreasonably dangerous, so every unit shares the flaw. Florida courts weigh consumer expectations and the risks versus the benefits of the design.
• Failure to warn (marketing defect). The product lacked adequate warnings or instructions about a non-obvious danger, leaving users exposed to a risk they couldn't reasonably avoid.

Strict Liability in Florida

Strict liability is powerful, but it still requires proof that the product was defective — which usually depends on preserving the product and having qualified engineers examine it. That is why what you do with the product after an injury can make or break the case.

Who Can Be Held Liable

Product liability reaches the entire chain that put the product in a consumer's hands — not just the brand on the box:

• The manufacturer of the finished product
• The maker of a defective component part
• The distributor or wholesaler
• The retailer that sold it

Each may carry separate insurance, and identifying every responsible company in the chain of distribution is often what makes a serious injury fully recoverable.

Common Defective-Product Cases

• Auto parts — defective airbags, tires, brakes, seat belts, and roof/structural failures that worsen crash injuries (see our car accident practice).
• Medical devices and implants — failed hardware, hips, mesh, and monitors (distinct from a medical malpractice claim against a provider).
• Dangerous pharmaceuticals — drugs with undisclosed risks or contamination.
• Children's products — unsafe cribs, toys, and car seats.
• Household appliances, tools, and machinery — equipment that lacks guards or fails in use.
• Lithium-ion battery fires — e-bikes, scooters, hoverboards, and electronics that overheat or ignite.
• Recalled products — a recall can be strong evidence, though a claim does not require one.

Serious product failures can cause catastrophic injuries, and where a defect causes a death, the claim proceeds as a wrongful death case.

Deadlines & the Statute of Repose

Comparative Fault, Misuse & Alteration

Manufacturers defend these cases by shifting blame to the user. The main arguments, and how they actually work under Florida law:

• Comparative fault. Under HB 837 (Fla. Stat. §768.81), a recovery is reduced by the injured person's share of fault, and a person more than 50% at fault recovers nothing.
• Product misuse. A maker may not be liable for a use that was not reasonably foreseeable — but ordinary, predictable use, even if not the "intended" use, is generally still covered.
• Substantial alteration. If the product was significantly modified after it left the manufacturer, that can affect the claim — which is another reason to preserve the product exactly as it was.

Compensation You May Recover

• Past and future medical expenses and rehabilitation
• Lost wages and lost future earning capacity
• Pain, suffering, and emotional distress
• Permanent disability, scarring, and disfigurement
• Punitive damages where a company's conduct was especially egregious (Fla. Stat. §768.72)
• In a fatal case: funeral costs and survivors' losses under Florida's Wrongful Death Act

What to Do After a Defective-Product Injury

1. Get medical care right away and keep every record.
2. Preserve the product — do not repair, alter, or throw it away. Keep it exactly as it was, along with the packaging, manual, and receipt. The product is the case's most important evidence.
3. Photograph everything — the product, the defect if visible, the scene, and your injuries.
4. Save proof of purchase and note where and when you bought it.
5. Do not return the product to the manufacturer or retailer, and don't accept a "replacement" that requires you to send the original back.
6. Do not give a recorded statement to the company's insurer before speaking with an attorney.
7. Call an attorney quickly so the product can be preserved and examined and the deadlines checked.

How Kaiser Romanello Helps

Kaiser Romanello, P.A. has represented injured Floridians since 2002. Product cases are document- and expert-intensive, and our work reflects that:

• We preserve the product and retain qualified engineers to examine it and identify the defect.
• We trace the full chain of distribution — manufacturer, component maker, distributor, and retailer — and the insurance behind each.
• We check both the statute of limitations and the statute of repose early, so a claim isn't lost to a technical deadline.
• We prepare each case to be tried, because manufacturers value a claim seriously only when they believe a firm will take it to a jury.

You pay nothing up front. We work on a contingency fee — no fee unless we win your case — and we advance the costs of investigators and engineering experts.

Frequently Asked Questions

By Lorne Kaiser & Steven Romanello, Kaiser Romanello, P.A. — Florida personal injury attorneys since 2002 (FL Bar Nos. 0568491 & 557277). Last reviewed: September 2026. This page is general information about Florida law, not legal advice; every case is different and outcomes vary. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.