What is a “negligence claim”?

A negligence claim is a type of legal claim in California’s product liability law. It holds the manufacturer, seller, or distributor of a product responsible for any harm the product causes if it is determined that the product failed to function properly or was defective and, as a result, caused harm to the user. To be successful in a negligence claim, the plaintiff (the person who is filing the lawsuit) must show that the party they are suing was negligent and that their negligence caused the injury or harm they experienced. To prove negligence, a plaintiff must demonstrate that the defendant (the person being sued) had a duty to their customer to provide a safe product, that this duty was breached in some way, and that the breach was what caused the harm or injury to the customer. For example, if a manufacturer of a children’s toy was found to have used unsafe materials in the design of the toy and the toy caused injury to a child, the parent of the injured child may be able to file a negligence claim against the toy manufacturer. The parent would need to prove that the toy manufacturer had a duty to use safe materials, that this duty was violated by using unsafe materials, and that using the unsafe materials caused the injury to the child.

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What is a “negligence claim”?

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