Richmond partner Diane P. Flannery and associate Andrew F. Gann Jr. provided an overview of product liability laws and regulations in Virginia for a chapter published in The Legal 500: Product Liability Country Comparative Guide. The publication features country-specific analysis of product liability laws from lawyers at firms ranked by The Legal 500, an independent guide to leading firms and lawyers.
Flannery chairs McGuireWoods’ Products, Environmental & Mass Tort Litigation Department. In the chapter covering Virginia’s laws, she and Gann answered questions about the legal bases for product liability, the elements plaintiffs must prove, common defenses and the limitation period for bringing a claim.
Flannery and Gann also weighed in on likely future developments in product liability law and how technological advances will affect the law.
“Products liability law and practice will continue to grow and refine with technological developments,” they wrote. “These developments will have a significant impact on the future of products liability law and require courts to grapple with many issues and scenarios that are unique. One example that comes to mind is self-driving cars. While these issues will require courts to make many first impression decisions on issues, it is unlikely to upend the sustainability of products liability litigation. In addition, jury trials will be different because it will be difficult to explain these more complex, autonomous advancements to jurors.”