Chapter1 STRICT LIABILITY AND PRODUCT LIABILITY Product Liability The liability of manufacturers, sellers, and others for the injuries caused by defective products. Fault-Based Theories • Negligence • Misrepresentation • Negligence • Defendant breached a duty of due care to the plaintiff that caused the plaintiff’s injuries.
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Chapter1
STRICT LIABILITY AND PRODUCT LIABILITY
Product Liability
The liability of manufacturers, sellers, and others for the injuries caused by defective products.
Fault-Based Theories
• Negligence
• Misrepresentation
• Negligence
• Defendant breached a duty of due care to the plaintiff that caused the plaintiff’s injuries.
• E.g., negligent product design, failure to assemble properly, failure to inspect, failure to warn.
• Misrepresentation
• Seller or lessor fraudulently misrepresents the quality of a product or conceals a defect in it.
• Recovery limited to persons who relied on the Misrepresentation.
Strict Liability
• Liability Without Fault
– Unlike negligence, strict liability does not require the injured person to prove that the defendant breached a duty of care.
• May be liable even though exercised all possible care.
- Strict Liability Defendants Sellers and lessors engaged in business of selling or leasing products.
o All parties in the chain of distribution
Defect in Manufacture
• Defect that occurs when manufacturer fails to:
– Properly assemble a product
– Properly test a product, or
– Adequately check the quality of a product.
• E.g., or mouse found in soft drink bottle.
Defect in Design
• Defect that occurs when a product is improperly designed.
• E.g.,
– Toys designed with removable parts that could be swallowed by children.
– Machines designed without proper safeguards.
– Trucks designed without a backup warning device.
Failure to Warn
• Defect that occurs when a manufacturer does not place a warning on the packaging of products that could cause injury if the danger is unknown.
Defect in Packaging
• Manufacturers owe a duty to design and provide safe packages for their products.
Failure to meet this duty subjects all in chain of distribution of the product to strict liability
Other Product Defects
• Failure to provide adequate instructions
• Inadequate testing of products
• Inadequate selection of component parts or materials
• Improper certification of the safety of a product
• Generally Known Dangers
• Certain products are inherently dangerous.
• E.g., guns, knives
• Products known to the general population to be so.
• Sellers are not strictly liable for failing to warn of generally known dangers.
• Government Contractor Defense
• Contractor who was provided specifications by the government is not liable for any defect in the product that occurs as a result of those specifications.
• Product must conform to specifications.
• Contractor must have warned of known defects or dangers.