Every product you buy is supposed to be safe for its intended use. When a defective product injures you or a member of your family, Nevada law allows you to hold the manufacturer, distributor, and retailer responsible. Unlike standard personal injury claims that require proof of negligence, Nevada product liability cases operate under strict liability.
You do not need to prove the company was careless. You need to prove the product was defective and that the defect caused your injury.
Drummond Law Firm offers a free consultation to evaluate your product liability claim. Call (702) 366-9966.
Product Liability Attorneys Serving Las Vegas
Drummond Law Firm represents defective product injury victims throughout Las Vegas with direct, attorney-led legal representation. Every client works with a licensed attorney who identifies the defect, traces the product through the supply chain, and determines which companies are liable for your injury. You will never be passed off to a paralegal for the decisions that count.
Defective products cause thousands of injuries in Clark County every year. Vehicle component failures on Las Vegas highways, malfunctioning consumer electronics, dangerous household appliances, and children’s products sold with hidden hazards all produce injuries that give rise to product liability claims. When a manufacturer puts a defective product on the market, the people who are harmed have the right to pursue compensation under Nevada law.
Craig Drummond has litigated personal injury and product liability cases throughout Nevada and brings more than 20 years of trial experience to every case. As a former U.S. Army Captain and JAG attorney, he prepares every claim with the discipline that litigation against corporate manufacturers demands.
What Sets Drummond Law Firm Apart?
Our attorneys pursue product liability claims against manufacturers, distributors, importers, and retailers across the entire supply chain. When multiple companies share responsibility for putting a defective product on the market, we file against each one to maximize your recovery.
Product liability cases require technical evidence that standard personal injury claims do not. We retain engineers, metallurgists, and product safety experts who can analyze the defect and reconstruct the failure sequence. They testify about what the manufacturer knew during the design and testing phases. The expert analysis separates a viable product liability claim from one the manufacturer’s legal team can dismiss on summary judgment.
The Reduced Fee Guarantee ensures our attorney fee will not exceed your net recovery, and you will not pay a fee unless we win your case.
When the stakes are high, you need an attorney who’s already been tested under pressure.
Three Types of Product Defects
Nevada law recognizes three categories of product defects, and the type of defect in your case determines the evidence your attorney must present and the experts your case requires.
Design Defects
A design defect exists when the product’s design is inherently dangerous, making every unit of that product unsafe regardless of how carefully it was manufactured. The flaw is in the blueprint, not the assembly line.
A vehicle with a roof structure too weak to protect occupants in a rollover or a space heater without an automatic shutoff are design defect claims. So is a children’s toy with small parts that detach during normal use. Your attorney must show that a safer, economically feasible alternative design existed and that the manufacturer chose not to use it.
Manufacturing Defects
A manufacturing defect occurs when the product’s design is safe but something went wrong during production. The result is a flawed unit that differs from the manufacturer’s own specifications. The product left the factory in a condition the manufacturer did not intend.
A batch of medication contaminated during production or a tire with an air pocket in the rubber that causes a blowout are common examples. A ladder with a defective weld that collapses under normal weight is another. These cases often affect a limited number of units rather than the entire product line.
Marketing Defects (Failure to Warn)
A marketing defect is the absence of adequate warnings, instructions, or safety information that would have prevented the injury. The product itself may function as designed, but the company failed to inform consumers about known risks.
A power tool without a guard warning, a pharmaceutical without disclosure of dangerous drug interactions, or a cleaning product without instructions about ventilation requirements are failure-to-warn claims. The manufacturer has a duty to warn consumers about every foreseeable risk associated with the product’s intended use.
How Strict Liability Works in Nevada Product Cases
Nevada applies strict liability to product defect cases under NRS 695E.090. Under strict liability, the victim does not need to prove the manufacturer was negligent. The victim must prove three things: the product was defective, the defect existed when it left the defendant’s control, and the defect caused the injury.
This standard gives the victim a significant practical advantage over a standard negligence claim. The manufacturer cannot defend itself by showing it followed industry standards or conducted safety testing. The qualifications of its engineering team are equally irrelevant under strict liability. The only question is whether the product was defective and unreasonably dangerous when it reached the consumer.
Nevada follows modified comparative negligence under NRS 41.141. The manufacturer will raise defenses designed to shift blame to you and push your fault percentage above the 50 percent bar. If a jury assigns you more than 50 percent fault, you are barred from recovering anything. Your attorney must counter these defenses by proving the product failed during normal, intended use and that no reasonable consumer would have anticipated the failure.
Four Legal Theories for Product Liability Claims in Nevada
Nevada law recognizes four legal theories for pursuing a product liability claim, and your attorney may rely on more than one in the same case.
Strict liability holds the manufacturer liable for a defective product without requiring proof of fault. This is the strongest and most common theory in Nevada product liability cases.
Negligence requires proving the manufacturer failed to exercise reasonable care during design, production, testing, or quality control. Unlike strict liability, negligence focuses on what the company did wrong rather than on the product itself. Your attorney must show the manufacturer cut corners, skipped testing protocols, or ignored known risks during development.
Breach of warranty applies when a product fails to meet its express or implied promises. An express warranty is a specific guarantee the manufacturer made about the product’s performance or safety. An implied warranty is the legal expectation that the product is fit for its ordinary purpose. When the product fails to perform as warranted, the manufacturer may be liable for the resulting injuries.
Intentional misrepresentation applies when the manufacturer knowingly made false statements about the product’s safety or concealed known defects from consumers. These cases can support punitive damages because the misconduct is deliberate.
Who Can Be Held Liable for a Defective Product?
Nevada law allows you to sue every entity in the product’s chain of distribution, not just the manufacturer. Any company that played a role in getting the defective product from the factory to your hands may bear liability for your injury.
The manufacturer that designed and built the product bears primary liability. The distributor or wholesaler that moved the product from the manufacturer to the retailer may also be liable, even if the distributor never inspected the product.
The importer that brought a foreign-manufactured product into the United States faces liability under Nevada law because domestic consumers have no practical way to sue a foreign manufacturer directly. The retailer that sold the product to you is liable even if the retailer had no knowledge of the defect and no role in the product’s design or production.
Naming every entity in the supply chain is a deliberate litigation strategy, not an exercise in casting a wide net. Each defendant carries its own insurance policy, and filing against every liable party opens every available policy for your recovery.
It also creates cross-claims between defendants, where each company points to another as the source of the defect. The resulting finger-pointing often forces faster and larger settlements than suing the manufacturer alone.
Common Defenses Manufacturers Use
Manufacturers and their insurance companies raise predictable defenses in product liability cases, and your attorney must be prepared to counter each one.
Product misuse is the most common defense. The manufacturer argues you used the product in a way it was not designed for and that the misuse, not the defect, caused your injury. Your attorney counters by showing you used the product as any reasonable consumer would, or that the manufacturer should have anticipated the way you used it.
Product alteration is a related defense. The manufacturer argues someone modified the product after it left the factory and that the modification introduced the flaw. Your attorney must demonstrate the product was in its original, unmodified condition at the time of the injury, or that the alteration did not contribute to the failure.
Assumption of risk applies when the manufacturer argues you knew the product was dangerous and chose to use it anyway. Warning labels, safety manuals, and product documentation all become part of this defense.
Comparative negligence under NRS 41.141 is the broadest defense. The manufacturer argues your own conduct contributed to your injury and seeks to reduce or eliminate your recovery by pushing your fault percentage above the 50 percent bar.
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Common Products That Cause Injuries
Drummond Law Firm handles product liability claims involving consumer, industrial, and automotive products throughout Las Vegas and Clark County.
Motor vehicles and vehicle components account for a large share of product liability cases. Defective brakes, airbags that fail to deploy or deploy without impact, and tires that blow out at highway speeds are common examples. Seatbelts that unlatch on collision and fuel systems that leak and ignite also produce catastrophic injuries.
Medical devices and pharmaceuticals present unique risks because the defect may not become apparent until months or years after use. Defective surgical implants, hip and knee replacements that fail prematurely, and medications with undisclosed side effects can cause progressive harm that worsens over time.
Household appliances and electronics injure consumers through electrical fires, overheating lithium-ion batteries, pressure cooker explosions, and power tools with inadequate safety guards. These products are used daily, and a defect in any one of them can cause burns, lacerations, or electrocution.
Children’s products carry the highest stakes because the victims cannot protect themselves. Toys with detachable choking hazards, car seats that fail in a collision, and cribs with entrapment gaps are all grounds for a claim. So are children’s products containing lead or other toxic materials.
Steps to Take After a Defective Product Injury
Seek medical attention immediately and tell your doctor that a product caused your injury. A medical record that links your injury to a specific product is the foundation of your claim. Without that connection documented from the start, the manufacturer will argue your injury came from something else.
Preserve the product exactly as it was at the time of the injury. Do not repair it, discard it, or return it to the retailer. Your attorney and the engineering experts working on your case need to examine it in its failed condition. If you throw the product away or allow the manufacturer to take it back, you may lose the most important piece of physical evidence your case requires.
Photograph the product from multiple angles, capturing the defect, any packaging, warning labels, instruction manuals, and your injuries. Save the receipt, warranty card, and any correspondence with the manufacturer or retailer.
Do not call the manufacturer’s customer service line to report the defect before speaking with an attorney. These calls are often recorded, and anything you say about how you used the product can be used to support a misuse or alteration defense.
What Compensation Can You Recover?
Nevada law allows defective product injury victims to recover economic, non-economic, and punitive damages.
Economic damages cover medical bills, surgical costs, rehabilitation, lost wages, and future medical treatment for injuries that require ongoing care. When a defective product causes catastrophic injury or permanent disability, future economic damages can include lifetime medical costs, home modifications, and lost earning capacity.
Non-economic damages account for pain and suffering, emotional distress, disfigurement, and loss of enjoyment of life. Nevada places no cap on non-economic damages in product liability cases.
Punitive damages may apply when the manufacturer knew about the defect and failed to issue a recall or warning. A company that concealed internal test results, suppressed consumer complaints, or continued selling the product after receiving injury reports may face punitive liability. Courts award punitive damages to punish the manufacturer and discourage other companies from making the same calculation.
In wrongful death cases involving fatal product defects, the victim’s family may recover funeral expenses, lost financial support, and grief-related damages.
How Long Do You Have to File a Product Liability Lawsuit?
Nevada gives you two years from the date of your injury to file a personal injury lawsuit under NRS 11.190. Once that deadline passes, the court will almost certainly dismiss your case.
Nevada does not impose a statute of repose on product liability claims. Many states set an outside deadline based on when the product was first sold, typically 10 to 15 years, regardless of when the injury occurred. Nevada has no such cutoff.
A person injured by a decades-old appliance, an aging vehicle component, or industrial equipment installed years ago can still file a claim within the two-year window. This is a significant advantage for victims injured by older products that other states would bar from litigation entirely.
Product evidence changes quickly after the injury. Manufacturers issue design revisions, discontinue the product line, or destroy internal testing records once the retention period expires. Contacting an attorney early preserves your ability to examine the product, subpoena corporate records, and secure expert analysis before the manufacturer alters the evidence.
How Drummond Law Firm Can Help
Drummond Law Firm provides attorney-led representation for defective product injury victims across Las Vegas and Clark County. Our product liability attorneys hold every responsible party accountable and fight for the full value of your claim. Craig Drummond, a former U.S. Army Captain and Bronze Star recipient licensed for more than 20 years, brings military discipline to every case our firm handles.
The Reduced Fee Guarantee ensures we will never take more than you receive in a settlement, and you will not pay a fee unless we win your case. Call the Captain today at (702) 366-9966 to schedule a free consultation.
