9. Liability in Tort for Defective Products Flashcards
What are the usual elements of negligence which must be proven when a claimant is injured by a defective product?
- Duty or care
- Breach of duty
- Causation
Usual defences available.
What two conditions must be satisfied for a manufacturer to owe a duty of care to the end customer of that product?
- Manufacturer put the product into circulation in the form in which it is intended to reach the end consumer, and
- No reasonable expectation of an intermediate examination of the product before reaching the consumer
To whom will the manufacturer owe a duty?
Anyone whom it is reasonably foresee would be affected by a defect in the product
Who is the duty owed by?
The person who manufactured the product, but the class of defendants can also extend to those who install/repair products
Will a retailer who merely supplies a product generally come under this duty?
No, unless they reasonably ought to have inspected the product for defects before supplying it
What is the extent of the duty which will be owed by a manufacturer?
Personal injury caused by the product and economic loss consequential to the injury
Does the duty of care extend to damage caused to property by a defective product?
Yes, but damage caused to the defective product is specifically excluded and cannot be claimed for
Are the usual negligence defences available?
Yes
What is the strict liability regime under the Consumer Protection Act 1987 for damage caused by defective products?
When damage is caused by a defect in a product in a consumer context, it is not necessary to prove that it arose because of fault on the part of the defendant, but it is still necessary to prove the defect
Who can claim under this CPA regime?
Anyone who suffers damage caused by a defect
What three categories of parties may be a defendant under the CPA regime?
- Manufacturer/producer of the product
- Any person who held themselves out as a manufacturer/producer of the product by putting their own mark on it, and
- Any person who imported the product to supply it in their course of business
Under the CPA regime, what is the liability of the defendants where there are two or more?
Joint and several
What three conditions must be satisfied for a supplier to be liable under the CPA regime?
- Person who suffered damage requests identity of producer within a reasonable time
- Not reasonably practicable for the claimant to identify the producer on their own, and
- Supplier fails to identify the producer (or its own supplier) within a reasonable time
Under the CPA regime, when is a product defective?
When its safety is not of the standard people generally are entitled to expect
In determining whether a product’s safety is not of the expected standard and therefore defective, what three things will be taken into account?
- Packing, and purposes for which it was marketed
- Instructions and warning provided
- What is expected to be done with the product
What two conditions must be met to argue the defence that the product was not supplied in the course of business?
- Defendant was not acting in the course of business when they supplied, and
- Defendant either was not the producer or the product, or the defendant was not acting with a view to profit
In what situation is the state of the art defence not available?
Where a class of products carries a known risk of containing a defect and a defect arises, the defence will not be available
