Product Liability: A Review

1. Product Liability:A Review TECH-435 Legal Aspects of Safety Dr. E. Hansen, CIE, CHCM Northern Illinois University Department of Technology

2. Introduction The manufacturer of a product must exercise reasonable care to prevent injury to consumers and others who may come in contact with their product. This reasonable care includes insuring that the product is fit for its intended purpose. Product liability or negligence may also extend to dealers, sellers, suppliers, repairers and others within the product chain.

3. Brief History While the product liability cases today stem from the Consumer Product Safety Act (CPSA) of 1972 ("CPSA," 1972) prior historical cases and events fueled the debate and subsequent passage of the act. Prior to the turn of the century the general attitude was that of caveat emptor, or �buyer beware� based on common law. �The logic was simple: people should examine what they are to receive before they buy it.� The origins for caveat emptor stem from �early English social and legal philosophy reflected [in] the manufacturing nature of the economy (Vaughn, 1999).� Two differing views on the �first case� of product liability: McPherson v. Buick Motor Company (Vaughn, 1999) Donaghue v. Stevenson (Vogt, 2000).

4. Brief History: �First� Case # 1 In his book, Legal Aspects of Engineering, Richard Vaughn claims the origin of product liability stems from the McPherson v. Buick Motor Company case in 1916. The plaintiff in the case suffered injuries when the wheel on his new Buick collapsed. The judge ruled in favor of the plaintiff despite the use of the historical defenses of caveat emptor and privity of contract (an individual can not recover damages from the manufacturer, only the �middlemen�). The judge�s �reasoning is virtually a statement of products liability law as it evolved years later.� It was also during this time that the philosophies of negligence and warranty were developed. (Vaughn, 1999)

5. Brief History: �First� Case # 2 According to Susan Vogt, in her article Warning: Product liability law is extremely hot!, the first product liability lawsuit was Donaghue versus Stevenson decided the British House of Lords in 1932. This case was about a snail that was almost swallowed by a woman who discovered it in a bottle of ginger beer. �Its importance lies in the fact that the manufacturer was held liable, despite the absence of a contractual relationship, because the damages suffered were a foreseeable result of the manufacturer's negligence.� (Vogt, 2000)

6. Theories of Product Liability