Firearms Insurance Agent Blog

The 3 Types of Product Liability Claims

As a firearms manufacturer or distributor, there is always the risk of someone filing a product liability claim against you. However, the type of claim that is filed will depend on the situation and the person(s) involved. In general, there are three types of product liability claims that you should be aware of: 

Defective design 

A defective design product liability claim means that a product’s original design causes it to be dangerous and/or ineffective. This type of claim has nothing to do with the manufacturing process (when a product is physically being created and produced), but rather it focuses on errors made in the design process. This will impact the entire line of products rather than just a few outliers. 

Manufacturing defect 

If the design of a product is fine, but there was an error made in the manufacturing process, then this can result in a product liability claim for a manufacturing defect. This means that when the product was created on the factory floor, there was some sort of error that caused it to be dangerous and/or ineffective, resulting in harm to the customer. This type of defect will only impact a few products rather than the entire line. 

Warning and/or labeling defect 

The final product liability claim has to do with the warnings and labels that are on the products that we use. If a particular product could be harmful and customers are not properly warned ahead of time, then the manufacturers of that product could be open to a lawsuit. The warning labels on our coffee cups, for instance, are a result of this kind of claim being filed.  

Product liability claims can be a serious cause for concern for any firearms manufacturer. At Firearms Insurance Agent, we can provide you with product liability insurance to protect you when a claim is filed against you. Call us at 816-229-4450 to learn more.