Product Liability Laws in New Jersey.

New Jersey does not cap compensatory damages in product-liability cases.

Punitive damages are capped at the greater of $350,000 or 5 times compensatory damages. Requires clear and convincing evidence.

Comprehensive statutory framework governing product-liability claims. Generally supersedes common-law theories. Recognizes design defect, manufacturing defect, and failure-to-warn.

Design defect requires proof that the product's risks outweigh its utility. Plaintiff typically must prove the existence of a safer feasible alternative design. Risk-utility analysis weighs usefulness, safety, availability of substitutes, manufacturer's ability to eliminate unsafe character, and user care.

For warning defects, FDA-approved labels give rise to a rebuttable presumption that the warning was adequate.

In failure-to-warn cases, New Jersey applies a heeding presumption — the plaintiff is presumed to have heeded an adequate warning had one been given. The defendant may rebut this presumption.