Do you have to prove a company was careless to recover for a dangerous product? Not always. Strict product liability allows an injured person to hold a manufacturer, distributor, or seller legally responsible when a product is defective and causes harm, even without showing traditional negligence. The focus is usually on the product itself: whether it had a design defect, a manufacturing defect, or inadequate warnings or instructions, and whether that defect made the product unreasonably dangerous when used in a reasonably expected way.

This matters because proving exactly how a company acted unreasonably can be difficult, especially when the defect is buried inside a vehicle part, appliance, tool, or safety device. In a product case, the claim often turns on the product's condition, how the injury happened, and whether the injured person was using it in a foreseeable manner. For example, if a defective tire fails during a road closure detour after a rockslide near the Pali Highway, the issue may be the defect rather than whether the maker's internal decisions can be fully uncovered right away.

For an injury claim, strict product liability can expand who may be responsible and strengthen damages claims for medical bills, lost income, and pain and suffering. In Hawaii, personal injury lawsuits are generally subject to the two-year filing deadline in Haw. Rev. Stat. § 657-7 (2023). Hawaii's comparative fault rule, Haw. Rev. Stat. § 663-31 (2023), can also reduce recovery if the injured person's own conduct contributed to the harm.