Product Liability Theory

Product Liability

It is a way of enforcing consumer protection, such that the consumers should not get harmed by using the products they buy. In other words, it’s a type of legal boundary which imposes a responsibility on a firm, company, business unit or an individual for designing, manufacturing, selling and promotion of defective products.

History

During the early 1800s, most of the products were made, developed, grown or prepared locally, within a society. For e.g., most food items like cakes, confectionaries are grown at home using known method and materials; people use to make home remedies for cough, cold, upset stomach, headache etc.; even the clothes were stitched either at home or at a known tailor’s place; houses were built mostly

So, there are legal theories which aims at addressing problems related to damages caused by products and injuries in this industrial society to ensure the safety of the consumers.

In general, there are three legal theories, viz., warranty (which comes under contract theory, governed by the Uniform Commercial Code) and negligence and strict products liability (both come under tort theory, governed by the common law).

As the major product liability concepts are very broad, we are taking up only the Tort Theory ahead for our study, which will include Strict Liability and Negligence legal theories.

Negligence in Tort

It is a legal theory in which the claims should have the proof of the following:

• An ownership of duty

• Breach of the owned duty

• The breach should be the actual cause of the damages suffered by consumer

• The breach should be the proximate cause of the damages suffered by consumer

• The consumer has suffered an actual quantifiable

Under this theory, the manufacturer will be held liable if the product has caused any damages or injuries to the consumer, even if the manufacturer claims that he/ she was not negligent in making the defective product.

This theory discourages the reckless behavior among the manufacturers and needless loss to the consumers by forcing the potential defendants firms to take extra precautions. Also, it simplifies the court decisions in these cases.

We can use a simple example to understand the above concept, a passenger travelling from a public transport, who was unable to purchase a ticket due to valid reasons such as the ticket vending machine, was broken, the ticket conductor was not available in the vicinity. But, the legal responsibility of carrying a ticket while travelling via public transport rests with the passenger and he will be fined as per the rule irrespective of the reasons.

Elements in Strict Liability

Elements that fall under the theory of strict liabilities are:

• Product in defective