Defective Products and a Ten-Year Limit

A defective product can cause burns in seconds, and the legal clock starts running soon after. Indiana’s product liability law sets two deadlines that work together, and missing either one can end a claim. We explain how they apply to families in Fishers.

Indiana Sets Two Product Liability Deadlines

Indiana Code Section 34-20-3-1 says a product liability action based on negligence or strict liability must be started within two years after the cause of action accrues, or within ten years after the product was delivered to the initial user or consumer. The first is a filing period tied to the injury. The second works as an outer limit tied to the product’s age.

The Ten-Year Limit Has an Exception

The statute adds a safety valve. If the cause of action accrues at least eight years but less than ten years after the initial delivery, the action may be started within two years after it accrues. That gives a person hurt late in the product’s first decade a full two years to file.

Ten years isn’t forever. A product that has changed hands can be hard to trace, and records from the original sale may be long gone. Other injury claims follow different statutes of limitations, so a product case shouldn’t be measured against them.

Why Product Age Matters in Burn Cases

Appliances, chargers, and heating equipment can stay in use for many years, and items bought secondhand or passed down in a family may already be near or past the ten-year mark. The delivery date to the first user, not the date you got the item, is what the statute measures.

That means a person should find the original purchase information soon after an injury. Receipts, registration cards, and serial numbers all help, and a warranty card or retailer record may show when the first user received the item.

What Evidence Supports a Claim

Burn claims against a product maker rely on physical proof. Useful steps include:

• Keeping the product exactly as it was, without repair or cleaning
• Photographing the item, the scene, and the injuries
• Saving packaging, manuals, and any recall notices
• Writing down how the product was being used

Treat the item as evidence. Throwing it away can make it hard to prove a defect later. Photos taken right away can show details that fade as the injury heals.

Medical Care Shapes the Claim

Serious burns can require long treatment. Skin grafts, wound care, therapy, and scar management can all add to a claim, and the first steps matter, as laid out in steps after burns. Keep every bill, prescription receipt, and appointment record, since later treatment costs can depend on early documentation.

Doctors and insurers also describe injuries by severity, and burn injury degrees explains what those labels mean. Knowing the label makes it easier to follow medical records and insurer letters.

Other Parties May Share Responsibility

A product maker isn’t always the only responsible party. A seller, an installer, or a property owner may also be involved, depending on the facts. When a burn happens in a store, a rental, or another place open to visitors, a Fishers premises liability lawyer can evaluate the property owner’s role.

Indiana’s fault rules apply to these claims too. A closer look at Indiana fault laws shows why the way a product was used can change the outcome.

Deadlines Can Pass Quickly

Families can turn to a Fishers burn injury lawyer to identify the product’s delivery date, preserve the item, and place the claim within the right deadline. Waiting to see how treatment goes is understandable, but it uses up time the claim may need.

The Attorney Behind the Firm

At Pavlack Law, LLC, attorney Lance Ladendorf graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 2009 and from Indiana University’s Indianapolis law school in 2012. He was admitted to the Indiana bar in 2012.

Protect the Product and the Paperwork

Put the product in a safe place, keep your receipts, and photograph your injuries as they heal. Fishers residents who were burned by a product can reach out to us to review the timeline and the next steps.