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Alabama Product Claims Run Under the AEMLD, a Fault-Based Doctrine
If a defective product injured you or killed someone you love in Alabama, you can hold the company that made it responsible.
Alabama handles these claims under the Alabama Extended Manufacturer's Liability Doctrine, known as the AEMLD.
Selling a dangerously defective product counts as negligence as a matter of law, which keeps the case on the product and the company behind it.
Your negligence in causing a crash does not bar an AEMLD claim that the vehicle failed to protect you.
You generally have two years to sue, and the product itself may decide the case, so keep it exactly as it is.
Don Worley, admitted in Alabama, takes serious product injury and death cases.
Call (888) 713-6653 for a free review, with no fee and no costs unless we recover.
- Engineering and testing costs carried by the firm, not by you
- No fee and no costs unless we recover
- Free review of what failed and how it hurt you
What You Must Prove Under the Alabama Extended Manufacturer's Liability Doctrine
The Alabama Supreme Court created the AEMLD in 1976 and kept the idea of fault, declining to adopt the no-fault strict liability rule used in many states.[1] You do not have to show the company was careless in some separate way. You have to show the product was defective and unreasonably dangerous when it left the company's hands, that it reached you without substantial change, and that it caused your injury.
You also do not need to have bought the product yourself, though you must be a user or consumer of it. A family member, an employee using an employer's machine, or a guest can bring the claim, and a person merely standing nearby should ask before assuming.
Defects fall into three groups, and the proof differs for each.
A Design Defect
The whole product line carries the danger. A design case requires proof that a safer, practical alternative design was available when the product was made, that it would have reduced your injury, and that its value outweighs the design used, which usually takes an engineer. A missing guard can qualify only on that showing.[2]
A Manufacturing Defect
This one unit came off the line different from the rest, such as a tire with a bad bond or a ladder with a cracked weld. The failed unit is the main evidence, which is why keeping it matters so much.
A Failure to Warn
The product carried a danger that a user would not expect, and the warning or instructions did not tell you. The company's internal testing and complaint files often show what it knew and when. A warning claim can be pleaded under the AEMLD and as ordinary negligence, and a negligence count carries the full contributory negligence bar.
Alabama product cases often come from vehicles, tires, seat belts and airbags, plant and farm machinery, power tools, ladders, helmets, and household products. Our page on who else can be sued after an Alabama work injury covers machines that hurt workers, where a product claim can run beside workers' compensation.
Which Contributory Negligence Counts Against a Product Claim
Alabama's fault rule can end most injury claims, so people often assume a mistake on their part ends a product claim too. The Alabama Supreme Court has drawn a more careful line.
| What You Did | Effect on an AEMLD Claim | Alabama Authority |
|---|---|---|
| Negligence that helped cause the accident, such as a driving mistake | Not a defense to an AEMLD claim that the product failed to protect you in the crash, though it can bar a negligence count against the same maker | Dennis v. American Honda (1991) |
| Negligence in using the product itself, such as wearing a seat belt with slack in it | Can be a defense | General Motors v. Saint (1994) |
| Misuse of the product in a way the maker could not expect | A separate defense | General Motors v. Saint (1994) |
| Knowingly accepting a known danger | Assumption of the risk, a separate defense | Atkins v. American Motors (1976) |
The defense will still try to move your conduct into one of the last three rows. Dennis came from a motorcycle helmet case and Saint from a seat belt case, and we use them to keep the focus on how the product performed.[3]
Crashworthiness Claims When a Defect Makes a Crash Worse
Every vehicle will crash at some point, and its maker has to expect that. When a roof crushes, a seat belt releases, an airbag fails, or a fuel tank ignites, your injuries can be far worse than the crash itself would have caused. That added harm can support a claim against the maker, even if you made the driving mistake that started the crash.
This matters most in Alabama, where a family may have been told the crash was the driver's own fault and that nothing can be done. Before you accept that, have someone look at the vehicle. Tell the insurer not to sell or crush it, and ask that it be moved to storage. A totaled car can leave the salvage yard quickly, and the evidence can leave with it.
When a Retailer or Distributor Can Be Sued in Alabama
Alabama protects most sellers that only pass a product along. A retailer, wholesaler, or distributor generally cannot be sued in a product liability action unless one of these applies under Ala. Code § 6-5-521(b).[4]
- It also made or assembled the product, or it put its own hand on the design or labeling.
- It altered the product in a way that matters to the injury.
- The manufacturer cannot be identified after a diligent search, which an affidavit has to support under § 6-5-521(c). A seller that names the maker can generally get out of the case.
- It committed independent acts of negligence, wantonness, warranty violation, or fraud unrelated to the product's design or manufacture.
For you, this means the search for the real maker starts early. Many goods carry a store's brand or come through an importer, and finding the right company before two years have passed is part of the work we take off your plate.
How Much Is an Alabama Product Liability Case Worth?
A product claim can recover your medical care, your lost income and earning ability, and your pain, disfigurement, and mental anguish. No statute caps those damages against a manufacturer, and the value depends on how permanent the harm is and how strong the proof of the defect is.
When the company knew about the danger and kept selling, clear and convincing proof of that wantonness can add punitive damages under Ala. Code § 6-11-20, within the caps in § 6-11-21. The company's own complaint files, recall history, and test results are where that proof usually lives.
If a defective product caused a death, the family's claim runs through Alabama's wrongful death statute, and our page on wrongful death law in Alabama explains how a jury weighs it. Product cases are expensive to build, and the firm carries the engineering and testing costs, so you owe nothing unless we recover.
Two Years to Sue, and Why the Product Comes First Under § 6-2-38
Most Alabama product injury claims must be filed within two years of the injury. The Code still prints a one-year limit and a ten-year cutoff for product claims, and neither is in force since Lankford (1982) struck the act that contained them.[5][6] The evidence can be gone far sooner, and these steps protect it.
- Keep the product and all its parts. Do not repair it, clean it, test it, or throw it away.
- Save the packaging, manual, and receipt. A model and lot number can identify the company responsible.
- Photograph it where it failed. Include the setting and your injuries.
- Stop the insurer, employer, or tow yard from disposing of it. Ask in writing, or let us send the preservation letter.
- Check for a recall. The NHTSA and the Consumer Product Safety Commission publish recall searches, and a recall can help explain the defect.
If someone else holds the product, tell us today, because a letter puts the holder on notice and can create a duty to keep it.