Hurt by a Defective Product in New York? How a Claim Actually Works
An e-bike battery catches fire in a Flushing apartment. A pressure cooker lid blows off. A ladder rung snaps. A space heater has no tip-over shutoff. When a product injures someone in normal use, New York law does not require proof that the manufacturer was careless — only that the product was defective and the defect caused the injury. What most people get wrong is not the law. It is what they do with the product in the first 48 hours.
Step one: keep the product
The product is the case. Do not throw it away, return it to the store, send it to the manufacturer for a "free replacement," or let an insurance adjuster take it. Put it — and every broken piece, the packaging, the manual, and the receipt — somewhere safe and untouched. Photograph it as it is. If a fire destroyed it, preserve what remains and photograph the scene before cleanup. Manufacturers' defense experts will argue about what failed; without the product, you may have nothing to answer them with.
The three kinds of defect
Manufacturing defect. This particular unit came off the line wrong — a cracked weld, a contaminated batch, a missing part. The design was fine; your product was not.
Design defect. Every unit is dangerous because of how it was designed, and a safer, feasible design existed. New York courts weigh the product's usefulness against its risks and whether a reasonable alternative design was available. Lithium-ion batteries without adequate protection against thermal runaway are a current example in the city.
Failure to warn. The product had a risk that was not obvious, and the instructions or labels did not adequately warn about it or explain how to avoid it. Manufacturers can also have a duty to warn about dangers discovered after a product is sold.
Who can be held responsible
New York applies strict liability not just to the manufacturer but to others in the chain of distribution — component makers, distributors, and in many cases retailers that sold the product in the ordinary course of business. That matters when the brand is an overseas company with no U.S. presence: the importer or the store may still answer. Online marketplaces raise harder questions that depend on the platform's role in the sale.
A manufacturer can argue that the product was misused in an unforeseeable way or substantially altered after sale. Your own conduct can also reduce a recovery under New York's comparative fault rule — see our comparative negligence guide — but it rarely eliminates it.
Check for a recall — and report the product
Search the Consumer Product Safety Commission's recall list at CPSC.gov and file a report at SaferProducts.gov. A recall is not required to win a claim, and the absence of one does not mean the product was safe — but an existing recall or a pattern of similar reports can be powerful evidence. For vehicles and car parts, the recall database is at NHTSA.
Deadlines
Most New York product injury claims must be filed within three years of the injury. For injuries caused by exposure to a harmful substance that shows up later, CPLR 214-c generally starts the clock when the injury was discovered or should have been. If a defective product caused a death, the family's wrongful death claim generally has two years. A work injury from defective equipment can involve both workers' compensation and a separate product claim against the manufacturer — see workers' comp vs. personal injury.
What these cases are worth
Product cases can support full damages — medical costs, lost earnings, and pain and suffering — and burn injuries, amputations and eye injuries from product failures are often severe. Our pain and suffering calculator gives a rough starting range. The real number depends on the evidence, and product cases are expert-driven, which is why preserving the item matters so much.
See our product liability practice for the kinds of defective product cases we take across Queens and New York City.
Common questions
Do I have to prove the manufacturer was negligent in a New York product liability case?
Not for a strict liability claim. You generally must show the product was defective — in manufacturing, design or warnings — and that the defect caused your injury. Negligence and breach of warranty claims can be brought as well.
Can I sue the store that sold me a defective product?
Often, yes. New York can hold sellers in the ordinary course of business strictly liable along with manufacturers and distributors, which matters when the manufacturer is overseas.
What should I do with a product that injured me?
Keep it and everything that came with it, untouched and in a safe place, and photograph it. Do not return it, discard it, or hand it to the manufacturer or an insurer.
How long do I have to file a defective product lawsuit in New York?
Generally three years from the injury. Toxic exposure injuries may run from discovery under CPLR 214-c, and wrongful death claims generally have two years.
Does a product need to be recalled for me to have a case?
No. A recall can be helpful evidence, but many successful product cases involve products that were never recalled.
This page is general information about New York law. It is not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship with Davidov & Cohen Law. To talk about your own situation, tell us what happened.
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