Product liability cases reach 10-year high, new Lex Machina report finds
Individual product liability filings increased to 5,692 in 2025, a 31% year-over-year increase and the highest annual total in a decade, according to a new report from legal analytics platform Lex Machina. (Image from Shutterstock)
Individual product liability filings increased to 5,692 in 2025, a 31% year-over-year increase and the highest annual total in a decade, according to a new report from legal analytics platform Lex Machina.
The report, 2026 Product Liability Litigation Report, which covers trends in federal district and circuit courts and the Los Angeles County Superior Court, also shows that more new product liability cases than intellectual property, labor and employment and civil rights cases combined were filed in federal district courts from 2023 through 2025.
This federal product liability filing activity was largely driven by vehicle product cases, which increased about 269% between 2016 and 2025. The report notes that the 3,281 vehicle product cases represented more than half of all individual product liability filings last year.
Among the report’s other findings, product liability damage awards rebounded in 2025. Courts awarded about $2.98 billion across 38 cases last year, which was more than double the estimated $1.34 billion awarded across 39 cases in 2024. It was also above the estimated $2.04 billion awarded across 52 cases in 2023.
While the report notes that the 2025 total was the highest since 2017, it says a single $2.53 billion judgment accounted for most of the total.
One state, California, has experienced a surge in product liability lawsuits, the report also shows. From 2023 to 2025, the Central District of California received 3,004 individual product liability cases. This represented about 21% of the national total and more than three times the volume of any other federal district.
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