Product liability

If you are a manufacturer, you are liable for damage caused by faults in your products. This is known as product liability. Products should be safe and usable before they are allowed onto the European market. They should not endanger consumers’ health and safety.

Find out when you are considered a manufacturer.

Faults in a product

A fault in a product is for instance:

• the lack of a safety provision
• unsound instructions for use
• the lack of warnings on the product

When are you not liable?

The producer is not liable in cases such as:

• The product was safe when first launched on the market but was no longer so at a later date (for example, due to deterioration).
• The product was not originally intended for commercial purposes and was not manufactured or distributed as part of your business.
• You could not possibly have known that the product was unsafe. 

A person can no longer claim compensation under these liability rules after 10 years. The 10 years start on the day after the product was put on the market.

Product liability on imported products

If you import products from outside the European Economic Area (EEA) to sell, hire, lease, or otherwise supply them as part of your business, you are legally considered the producer. Product liability applies to importers, not to commercial agents.

Compensation

Has someone been harmed by an unsafe product? They can claim damages for up to 3 years. The 3 years start on the day after they knew about the harm, the fault, and who the producer was. This also applies if they should have known this.

They have to prove:

• there has been harm
• there is a fault in the product
• the fault caused the harm

What damage can you be liable for?

You may have to pay compensation for:

• damage resulting from death or personal injury
• damage to another item for private use

For damage to another item, that item must have been used mainly privately. For example, a faulty kettle causes a fire and damages a sofa. If the damage to that other item is less than €500, it is not covered by these product liability rules.