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12-Year Repose and 50% Fault Bar: Florida Product Liability Law
Evidence disappears fast in these cases. If you were hurt by a defective product, preserving it, and acting before deadlines close, matters more than almost anything else you can do.
TL;DR:
- Claims filed more than 12 years after product delivery are usually barred, except for certain categories like elevators or products with express warranties, which have a 20-year limit.
- The law allows for apportioning fault among responsible parties, and plaintiffs more than 50% at fault cannot recover damages.
- Evidence such as quality-control records, expert testing, and warning labels are crucial, and photographs can help preserve key evidence before it is lost.
- Firearm-specific statutes restrict evidence about features not required by federal law but do not affect claims based on actual manufacturing or design defects.
- It is essential to preserve the product, documentation, and witness information immediately after an injury to ensure a strong case.
Table of Contents
- What counts as a product liability claim in Florida
- Key statutes and 2026 legislative changes relevant to product liability
- Types of defects and how claimants prove them
- Timing rules: statute of limitations versus statute of repose
- Common defenses and how they change litigation strategy
- Damages and apportionment: what plaintiffs can recover
- What to do next: preserve evidence and meet your deadlines
- How Calil Law approaches complex product liability claims
- Talk to a Florida product liability attorney about your case
- Sources
- FAQ
What counts as a product liability claim in Florida
Florida law frames a “products liability action” broadly under F.S. 768.81, covering any claim for damages caused by a defective or unreasonably dangerous product, no matter which legal theory brings it to court. Most claims rest on one or more of three theories, and choosing the right one, or combining them, shapes the whole case.
- Strict liability asks whether the product failed to perform as safely as an ordinary consumer would expect, a standard Florida adopted through its consumer-expectations test rather than the newer risk-utility framework used elsewhere.
- Negligence focuses on the manufacturer’s conduct: did the company fail to exercise reasonable care in designing, making, or inspecting the product.
- Breach of warranty looks at whether the product failed to meet promises made about its safety or performance, express or implied.
Florida courts have leaned on cases like West and Ford Motor Co. v. Hill to anchor the consumer-expectations approach, which means a jury is asked what an ordinary person would reasonably expect from the product, not whether an engineer could have designed it differently. That distinction drives how attorneys build a case from day one, because strict liability and negligence claims often run side by side but require different proof.
Key statutes and 2026 legislative changes relevant to product liability
Florida’s product liability landscape rests on three statutes that any claimant or attorney needs to know cold, plus a wave of legislative activity aimed at one product category in particular.
- Statute of repose, F.S. 95.031, generally bars claims brought more than 12 years after a product was delivered to its first non-commercial purchaser, for products with an expected useful life of 10 years or less. Certain categories, including elevators and escalators, along with products carrying express warranties, get a longer 20-year window. Repose can be tolled only when a manufacturer had actual knowledge of a defect and concealed it, a narrow exception courts do not extend to general industry knowledge.
- Comparative fault, F.S. 768.81, requires fault to be apportioned among every responsible party and bars a plaintiff from recovering anything if they are found more than 50% at fault. This modified comparative negligence standard applies to negligence-based claims accruing on or after March 24, 2023, with medical malpractice carved out under a separate pure comparative negligence rule.
- Government rules defense, F.S. 768.1256, gives manufacturers a rebuttable presumption that a product was not defective if it complied with applicable federal or state safety standards at the time of sale. A manufacturer that failed to comply faces the opposite presumption, that the product was defective, unless it can prove otherwise.
Two new firearm-specific statutes took effect in 2026. CS/SB 1748 and its companion, CS/HB 1551, created sections 768.1258 and 790.3315, which limit what evidence can be introduced about the absence or presence of certain features not required by federal law in firearm product liability cases. Liability still stands where a claimant proves an actual manufacturing or design defect. These provisions apply to causes of action accruing on or after their effective dates, some as recent as July 1, 2026, and they matter almost exclusively to firearm-related claims rather than product liability generally.
Types of defects and how claimants prove them
Every Florida product liability case turns on proving one of three defect types, and each demands different evidence.
- A manufacturing defect occurs when a product deviates from its intended design during production, and proof usually comes from quality-control records, batch testing, and comparisons to properly made units.
- A design defect means the product was made exactly as intended, but the design itself was unreasonably dangerous, which typically requires engineering experts and internal design documents.
- A failure-to-warn claim argues the manufacturer knew of a risk and failed to adequately disclose it, often proven through warning labels, instruction manuals, and any recall history tied to the product.
The evidence that wins these cases rarely comes from memory alone. Design specifications, quality-control logs, expert testing reports, warning labels, and recall notices carry far more weight with a jury than testimony describing what happened after the fact. Our guide on design versus manufacturing defects walks through how to document each type before evidence disappears.
Pro Tip: Photograph the product, its packaging, and any visible defect before repairs, disposal, or a recall notice removes it from your possession.
Timing rules: statute of limitations versus statute of repose
Two separate clocks run on every Florida product liability claim, and mixing them up can cost you the whole case. Our overview of Florida’s personal injury statute of limitations covers the accrual side in more detail, but the basics matter here too.
- The statute of limitations typically starts running when the injury occurs or, under the discovery rule, when a reasonable person should have discovered both the injury and its cause.
- The statute of repose under F.S. 95.031 caps claims at 12 years after delivery for most products, extending to 20 years for categories like elevators and escalators or products with express warranties, regardless of when the injury was discovered.
- Concealment tolling requires proof the manufacturer had actual, specific knowledge of the defect and hid it. Courts apply this standard narrowly, and general awareness of similar problems in an industry will not toll the repose period.
The practical lesson is simple: do not wait to find out which clock has already started running against you.
Common defenses and how they change litigation strategy
Manufacturers rarely contest liability without deploying at least one of a handful of standard defenses, and each one redirects where the fight happens.
- The government rules defense lets a manufacturer point to compliance with applicable safety codes at the time of sale, creating a rebuttable presumption the product was not defective, which shifts the burden to the claimant to rebut that presumption with contrary evidence.
- Misuse and open-and-obvious danger defenses argue the injury resulted from using the product in a way it was never intended for, or that the risk was so apparent no warning was needed.
- Comparative fault under F.S. 768.81 lets a defendant argue the claimant’s own conduct contributed to the injury, and once a jury attributes more than 50% of fault to the claimant, recovery disappears entirely. Our page on Florida’s modified comparative negligence rule breaks down how that percentage gets calculated in practice.
Each defense pushes litigation toward different evidence: compliance records for government rules, usage instructions for misuse, and a detailed factual timeline for comparative fault.
Damages and apportionment: what plaintiffs can recover
Florida product liability plaintiffs can pursue several categories of damages, and each requires its own kind of proof.
- Economic damages cover medical bills, future treatment costs, and lost wages, documented through billing records, medical opinions, and employment history.
- Non-economic damages compensate for pain, suffering, and loss of enjoyment of life, generally established through medical records and testimony about the injury’s impact.
- Wrongful death damages, available to surviving family members, can include funeral expenses and loss of companionship, on top of the economic losses the deceased would have otherwise recovered.
- Punitive damages are reserved for cases showing intentional misconduct or gross negligence, a higher bar than ordinary defect claims.
Under F.S. 768.81, a judgment gets entered according to each party’s percentage of fault, and a claimant found more than 50% at fault recovers nothing at all. Consider a simplified example: a jury awards $200,000 in damages but finds the claimant 30% at fault. The award is reduced to $140,000. If that same jury had found the claimant 55% at fault, the recovery would drop to zero regardless of how serious the injury was.
What to do next: preserve evidence and meet your deadlines
The steps you take in the days after an injury often decide whether a product liability claim survives.
- Get medical care immediately and make sure every visit is documented, since medical records anchor both liability and damages.
- Preserve the product itself, along with its packaging, receipts, and any serial or lot numbers that identify the specific unit involved.
- Photograph everything, including the defect, the injury, and the scene where the incident occurred, before conditions change.
- Identify witnesses while memories are fresh and contact information is easy to obtain.
- Save electronic evidence, including any app data, smart device logs, or online purchase confirmations tied to the product.
An attorney brought in early can send preservation letters, retain experts before evidence degrades, and issue subpoenas that individual claimants cannot access on their own. Many law firms handle these cases on a contingency-fee basis, meaning there is no upfront cost, and fees are collected only from a successful settlement or verdict.
Pro Tip: Do not repair, discard, or return a defective product, even under a manufacturer’s recall offer, until you have spoken with an attorney about preserving it as evidence.
How Calil Law approaches complex product liability claims
Product liability cases live and die on the details: whether a manufacturer’s compliance with a safety code holds up under scrutiny, whether apportionment gets applied fairly among multiple defendants, and whether concealment can be proven to toll an otherwise expired repose period. We built our practice around trying complex disputes to verdict when negotiation does not deliver a fair result, and that trial readiness shapes how we prepare every case from the start, not just the ones that go to a jury.
Our approach typically moves through investigation, expert development, negotiation, and trial preparation, and we decide how aggressively to litigate based on how the evidence and the opposing party’s conduct develop. Some cases resolve faster through direct negotiation; others require the leverage that comes from a firm genuinely prepared to try the case.
Product liability claims reward the side that documents first and negotiates from strength, not the side that waits to see what the manufacturer admits.
— Jorge
Talk to a Florida product liability attorney about your case
A defective product case moves fast against you: evidence gets recalled, repaired, or thrown away, and statutory clocks keep running whether or not you know about them yet. Some law firms represent injured clients on a contingency-fee basis, so there is no upfront cost, and fees come only from a successful settlement or judgment. Some law firms are led by Board Certified Civil Trial Lawyers with extensive Florida litigation experience and review each case personally rather than routing it through a call center.
Before your consultation, gather what you can:
- Photos of the product, the defect, and any visible injury.
- Medical records documenting treatment tied to the incident.
- Proof of purchase, packaging, or serial numbers identifying the product.
- The product itself, if it is safe and legal to retain.
Visit our personal injury and product liability practice page to request a consultation and find out where your case stands.
FAQ
What is the statute of limitations for product liability in Florida?
The limitations period generally starts running when the injury occurs or, under the discovery rule, when a reasonable person should have discovered the injury and its cause. This runs separately from the 12-year statute of repose under F.S. 95.031, which caps claims regardless of when the injury was discovered.
What are the new legal guidelines in Florida for 2026?
The most significant 2026 change created firearm-specific evidentiary limits under CS/SB 1748 and CS/HB 1551, restricting certain evidence in firearm product liability cases while preserving liability for actual manufacturing or design defects. Outside firearms, the broader statutory framework, including the 12-year repose rule and the 50% comparative-fault bar, remains the governing structure for 2026 claims.
What is the liability law in Florida?
Florida product liability law lets injured claimants pursue manufacturers and sellers under strict liability, negligence, or breach of warranty theories, depending on the facts. Recovery is subject to a 12-year statute of repose under F.S. 95.031 and a modified comparative-fault rule under F.S. 768.81 that bars recovery for a claimant found more than 50% at fault.
How long is a company liable for a product?
Under F.S. 95.031, most companies face product liability exposure for 12 years after the product’s delivery to its first non-commercial purchaser, with a 20-year period for certain categories like elevators and escalators or products carrying express warranties. That period can be extended only if a claimant proves the manufacturer had actual knowledge of a defect and concealed it.
