New York Statute of Limitations for Defective Products
Created by FindLaw's team of legal writers and editors | Last reviewed June 20, 2016
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Personal injuries caused by defective products occur thousands of times a year in the US. New York product liability laws prohibit manufactures and sellers from placing dangerous or defective products into the stream of commerce. If injured by a dangerous product, New York statutes of limitations for defective products require that the injured party file a claim within a specified time in order for the cause of action to be valid. This is a quick summary of the statute of limitations for defective products in New York.
The Ticking Clock on Defective Product Claims
Statutes of limitations for defective products vary from state to state. The New York statute of limitations for defective products starts ticking once an injured party knows or should reasonably know that a manufacture's product is the cause of the injury. A person injured by a dangerous product has three years after learning of the injury to file a claim. Once this period has passed, an injured party will no longer have a valid claim outside a handful of exceptions.
The following table outlines the specifics of the New York statute of limitations for defective products.
| Code Sections | New York Civil Practice Law and Rules – Article 2: Limitations on Time |
| What is a Defective Product? | A seller breaches an express or implied warranty if it is reasonable to expect that a person may use, consume or be affected by the product and that person is injured when using this product. A seller does not need to know that the product was defected and may not exclude or limit this warranty in any way. |
| Statute of Limitations | Under New York statute of limitations laws, an action to recover damages for a personal injury, including defective products, must be commenced within three years. |
| When the Clock Starts | Generally, a cause of action starts to accrue under the New York statute of limitations for defective product laws at the time the cause of action occurred. However, there are some exceptions that delay the statute of limitations clock until the time an injury is first discovered. (e.g. exposure to substances or combination of substances that causes personal injuries) |
If you have been injured by a defective product and are concerned about the New York statute of limitations for defective produce, you can contact an New York product liability lawyer through FindLaw. Visit FindLaw's sections on statute of limitations and product liability for more articles and information on this topic.
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