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First off, I am 15-years-old & currently interested in pursuing a career in law. Yesterday, I found a website within the Cornell Law School database dealing with legal information (the website is called LII / Legal Information Institute). Not knowing where to get started, I clicked the Accidents & Injuries link which directed me to 5 articles pertaining to accidents & injuries. As I read through the articles, I came across the product liability law. Through my reading, I found that the liability for the damage caused by a product spreads through all parties along the chain of manufacture. Including the manufacturer of component parts, the assembling manufacturer, the wholesaler, & the retail store owner. Now, while I understand how the manufacturer of component parts & the assembling manufacturer could be held liable for any damages caused by a product, I am not understanding in what circumstances the wholesaler or the retail store owner would be held liable. Granted, I realize that there are three types of product defects that would constitute liability in both manufacturers & suppliers (design defects, manufacturing defects, & defects in marketing), the only defect I see would relate toward the wholesaler or retail store owner would be the defect in marketing. & this is where I lose my understanding of the product liability law.

So, what I am asking is if someone can list circumstances in which the wholesaler and/or the retail store owner would be held reliable for damages caused by a product? & it would be appreciated if there was some sort of in-depth explanation for the circumstance(s) listed. Thanks in advance.
15 years old and studying law- good for you. It is difficult enough for me to understand then try to figure out how it is applicable, too.

It is about spreading risk; burden of proof (who knows what & when); in order to identify who has the liability and how much (suing for damages).

So here is a case on the web that might be helpful to start reading about application to situations:
http://lawprofessors.typepad.com/med...ct_court_.html
Once you start reading you get more information to try to figure out. There is also Law Articles link on the bottom of this page.

It can become addictive, so beware. Good luck.