The Statute of Limitations For A Defective Product Claim

The legal system does not want the courts to be flooded with legal claims from members of the public. Consequently, there is a statute of limitations for each type of claim. Hence, one statute applies to any submitted defective product liability claim.

There are some facts about the claims submitted by consumers that have been injured by a defective product. Some provinces have a statute that gives any potential claimant up to 4 years to file a claim. Most of the provinces have a statute of limitations that places the deadline for filing at the end of 2 or 3 years.

Where should claims be filed?

• A claimant can file the necessary papers at a court in the region where the claimant got injured by the defective item.
• Claimants are also allowed to file the necessary papers in the state where the defendant operates its business.

What is the start date for any one statute of limitations?

Usually, the start date is the day when the victim injured. Conversely, in some provinces, the start date is the day when the injury was discovered, or should have been discovered. Some defendants manage to use the start date as way to justify the claim made against them by an injured consumer.

If a manufacturer learns about the existence of a defect, that manufacturing company might send out a notice. That same notice might make a vague reference to a product with a known defect. The notice might even include an offer to replace the defective item. When it sends out such a notice, the sending company views the date of receipt as the day when a specific consumer (the recipient) has discovered or should have discovered the existence of the defect in the purchased product.

Due to the lack of details in the company’s letter, not all recipients inquire about getting a replacement. Later, if one of those same, non-responding recipients gets injured while using the defective item, then he or she may not be able to file a defective product liability claim.

It could be that the unlucky consumer got injured after the deadline, as stated in the statute of limitations. Still, even if the court in the claimant’s state refuses to accept the filing papers, those same documents might be presented to a different court. The injured plaintiff has the option of consulting a lawyer to represent their case.

The consumer would need to learn the statute of limitations in the state where the manufacturing facility was located. At that point, the same consumer might have time to file the papers that are associated with all defective product liability claims.