When purchasing products, many people are wary of warranties that could ultimately impact how long a product can receive repairs or even the timeframe we can return the product in. However, warranties can apply in many more situations than getting a costly appliance fixed. Some warranties apply to the quality of the product or the validity of making product liability claims.

Implied and Express Warranties

Many of us are familiar with written and spoken warranties, which include statements of what is and is not part of a warranty. When it comes to products, warranties serve as a guarantee that a product will meet stated quality and reliability standards – often with a money back statement applied. When a product does not meet the expectations of the warranty, a consumer can easily pick out the discrepancies and take the matter up with the manufacturer.

In contrast, an implied warranty does not involve any form of written or verbal agreement – the guarantee of proper operation is an implication. However, this does not make such warranties any less valid or enforceable. If you purchased a toaster that does not produce enough heat to operate as a toaster, then it would be a breach of the implied warranty of the product.

Consumers have several legally enforceable warranty rights that work on the concept of providing fair value for money spent. These warranties fall into two major categories.

Implied Warranty of Merchantability

One of the types of implied warranties is that of merchantability – that the product will work if used for its intended purchase. If you purchase a product that does not work as it should for the intended purchase, like the toaster in our earlier example, you have a right to an exchange or refund. However, if the product doesn’t work because you are using it for an unintended purchase, the warranty of merchantability does not apply.

To be a merchantable item, a product must:

• Conform to stands of trade as applies to the contract for sale
• Be suitable for intended purposes, even if a consumer purchased it for another use
• Be uniform involving quantity and quality
• Packed and labeled appropriately
• Meet specifications on package labels

The implied warranty of merchantability is also applicable to used items, given the condition of the product at the time of sale.

Some states allow merchants to mark items as “with all faults” or “sold as is” to avoid implied warranty, often under the argument that the consumer had the opportunity to observe the item before purchase. California is one of these states.

Implied Warranty of Fitness

While all products have an implied warranty of merchantability, others also have a warranty of fitness. Products with an implied warranty of fitness are not only suitable for the merchantable standards, but for an additional, specific purchase. Coming back to the toaster example, if you asked a salesperson for a toaster that could toast four slices of bread at once but it only has the capacity to handle two, then you could return the product for breaching the warranty of fitness.

In most cases, the warranty of fitness comes from a salesperson’s recommendation of an item for a specific purchase. These warranties can apply even if a product meets the standards of merchantability.

Implied warranties work to protect a customer’s rights to functional products that work as intended. They not only serve as grounds for returns and exchanges but can also help to support a product liability case. If you have suffered damages due to an improperly functioning product that violates the implied warranty of merchantability, then you may have grounds to seek compensation. Discussing your potential claim with a Bakersfield product liability attorney is the first step to understanding your warranty rights.

When it comes to injuries and damages caused by products, it can be legally possible to pursue compensation through a product liability case. These claims allow for consumers to protect their rights to safety when using products. However, as a lawsuit can take up the time and money of a company and cast poorly on its reputation, many manufacturers hope to avoid such procedures altogether.

Product disclaimers are one such strategy to avoid fielding lawsuits and claims for damages from a company. And while a disclaimer may seem discouraging when you read it, the legal effectiveness of these written warnings isn’t as airtight as you may think.

Implied Product Warranties

All manufacturers must uphold two types of warranties that boil down to one conclusion: the manufactured product is safe enough for consumer use, so long as you follow the intended purchase. Even if you don’t see such a warranty written out when you purchase a product, the law implies this safety for all manufactured and sold products.

Because you have these warranty rights, a general written disclaimer has no legal standing. You as a consumer have had no opportunity to bargain or revoke your warranty rights, so a written general product disclaimer would be invalid. Your default warranty rights still hold, and you’d be able to file a product liability lawsuit if you suffered unfair injury during reasonable use of the product.

Reasonable Use and Assumption of Risk

One of the included provisions of implied product warranties that they are only valid so long as a consumer uses a product within the reasonable limitations. For example, if you followed all safety precautions when lighting fireworks and still sustained an injury due to a malfunctioning product, then you would have a chance to file product liability.

On the other hand, if you were handling fireworks in an unsafe manner, such as aiming them at other people or objects, then you would not be using the product in a reasonable way, thus revoking your right to potential compensation for your damages. This is because assumption of risk has come into play.

Assumption of risk is a common defense for manufacturers during product liability cases, where the company purports that the plaintiff was using the product in an unsafe manner and assumed the potential risks of that use. Ways to reinforce this claim involve a product including a specific disclaimer rather than a general one.

General disclaimers often try to claim that the manufacturer has no form of liability through use of its products, no matter the situation. Specific disclaimers focus on stating the company isn’t liable if the consumer misuses the product in any way. If a manufacturer had included such a specific disclaimer with its product, then a court is much more likely to uphold it in court, so long as there is proof of product misuse.

Are There Situations Where General Disclaimers Can Apply?

While a court is much more likely to dismiss general disclaimers, it’s still possible for them to be valid in court. One common scenario is that if a written and signed contract indicates that the consumer has waived his or her warranty rights after given the chance to negotiate. A typical consumer may not see contracts for most purchases, but they can come into play for handmade or customizable products.

Even though general disclaimers aren’t effective in most situations, they can prevent lawsuits by discouraging customers from pursuing legal action – and it can be hard for an average consumer to tell the difference between a legally valid and invalid disclaimer. Seeking the counsel of an experienced Bakersfield product liability lawyer can help you determine if a disclaimer is legally binding. If not, you’ll be able to work with a lawyer to determine if you have a product liability case and start the claims process.