What Does Failure to Warn Mean?

When a product is dangerous in some manner, the manufacturer of the product may need to refrain from releasing the product until the danger is corrected in order to absolve itself of potential liability. Unfortunately, this is not always possible since there are many products that present inherent dangers. Drugs may have side effects, for instance, while things like hair dryers are always going to be dangerous when used in water.

When a product is dangerous in some manner, the manufacturer of the product may need to refrain from releasing the product until the danger is corrected in order to absolve itself of potential liability. Unfortunately, this is not always possible since there are many products that present inherent dangers. Drugs may have side effects, for instance, while things like hair dryers are always going to be dangerous when used in water.

Because not all dangers can be eliminated, there is a duty often imposed on manufacturers and sellers of products to warn users of potential risks and dangers. When a user receives a warning of a (reasonable) risk, the user should avoid doing whatever he was warned against or should use the product knowing of the potential danger.

If a manufacturer fails to provide adequate warnings (such as a drug manufacturer who failed to let customers know that a popular anti-depressant caused birth defects), then the party responsible can sue for failure to warn. Failure to warn is a specific type of negligence that can be used along or in conjunction with other negligence theories to impose legal liability for injury.