Povzetek: Prispevek obravnava napako proizvoda kot ključno predpostavko odgovornosti za proizvod v pravu ZDA. Podana je primerjava med odločitvami sodišč v ZDA ter ureditvijo v Tretjem in Drugem restatementu. Pri tem je pozornost namenjena predvsem ureditvi v Tretjem restatementu, katerega bistvene značilnosti so: različna definicija napake proizvoda glede na kategorije napake, izključitev testa potrošnikovih pričakovanj kot samostojnega testa napake, obveznost oškodovanca, da dokaže razumen alternativni načrt, če hoče dokazati obstoj napake v načrtu ... Predstavljeni so tudi razlogi, zakaj Tretji restatement (v nasprotju z Drugim) ne vsebuje enotne definicije napake izdelka, kar kaže na različne temelje odgovornosti za različne kategorije napake, pomemben del prispevka pa je tudi primerjava med testom potrošnikovih pričakovanj in testom tveganja in koristnosti kot osnovnima testoma napake proizvoda v ZDA. Prikazane so odločitve sodišč v ZDA, ki so v številnih primerih odločala, ali ima proizvod napako, kar je lahko v pomoč tudi pri odločanju sodišč v Sloveniji, kjer je sodna praksa glede ugotavljanja napake proizvoda skromna. Ključne besede: odgovornost za proizvod, napaka proizvoda, test napake, kategorije napake Abstract: The paper deals with the product defect as a key requirement of the product liability in the USA law. The author compares the court rulings in the USA and the regimes under The Restatement (Second) and The Restatement (Third). The article mainly concentrates on the provisions of The Restatement (Third) of Torts: Products Liability. Its main characteristics are: different definition of product defect according to the type of defect, the exclusion of consumer expectations test as an independent test of defect, the obligation of the plaintiff to prove the reasonable alternative design in case he wants to prove the existence of the defect, etc. The article also presents the reasons why The Restatement (Third), unlike The Restatement (Second) does not contain a single definition of the product defect, which is also reflected in different basis of liability for different types of defects. The significant part of the article is the comparison between the consumer expectations test and risk-utility test as the basic tests of product defect in the USA. The rulings of the USA courts are shown. In numerous cases these decisions have shown whether there is a defect in the product or not, which can be helpful in decision making in Slovene courts, where the rulings in relation to determining the product defect is still modest. Key words: products liability, product defect, test of defect, type of defect