What is a product?
When preparing to file a product liability case, one initial question is sometimes overlooked, namely "what is a product?"
Illinois courts have addressed this issue on a case by case basis, discussing the facts of the individual case against the backdrop of the policies behind product liability law. The following items have been held to not be a product under Illinois law:
- Services. If the injury occurred because of a service that was performed, then strict product liability is not proper.
- X-rays.
- Human body parts (blood, tissue and organs)
- Living creatures (pigs, dogs, etc.)
- Buildings and, maybe their components. Building guardrails, lights, windows, steam pipes, and building roofs have all been held not to be products under Illinois law. However, heating, ventilation and air conditions systems, a dumbwaiter, steel plates incorporated into real property, dance floor and a conveyer belt have all been held to be products.
As with a lot of legal issues, it takes a little elbow grease to find out what exactly is and is not a product under Illinois law. An attorney's best guess or gut feeling isn't a substitute for actually knowing the law with all its wrinkles.
- Read more about Defective Products and Products Liability - including Pharmaceutical and Manufacturer Liability
- Read more about Automobile Products Liability