Chapter 10 Product Liability Flashcards
assumption of risk
The expressed or implied consent by plaintiff to defendant to take the chance of injury from a known and appreciated risk.
comparative fault
Reduced recovery for an injured party because of misuse or abuse of manufacturer’s product.
continuity-of-enterprise approach
A test that imposes successor liability when the purchaser of assets maintains the same business, with the same employees doing the same jobs, under the same supervisors, working conditions, and production process, and produces the same products for the same customers as the seller corporation.
design defect
A type of product defect that occurs when the product is manufactured according to specifications, but its inadequate design or poor choice of materials causes it to be defective.
discovery-of-injury statute
Statutes that provide that the statute of limitations does not begin to run until the person discovers the injury.
failure to warn
Failure of a product to carry adequate warnings of the risks involved in the normal use of the product.
government-contractor defense
The limited immunity available for manufacturers that produce products to the specifications of government contracts.
idemnity
A right to reimbursement for loss.
limited fund class action
A class action in which the total of the aggregated liquidated claims exceeds the fund available to satisfy them.
manufacturing defect
A flaw in a product that occurs during production, such as a failure to meet the design specifications.
market-share liability
The liability for damages caused by a manufacturer’s products assessed based on a manufacturer’s national market share.
obvious risk
If the use of a product carries an obvious risk, the manufacturer will not be held liable for injuries that result from ignoring the risk.
preemption defense
The immunity granted manufacturers if they meet minimum standards of conduct under certain regulatory schemes.
premises liability
A theory under which a building owner may be found liable for violating its general duty to manage the premises and warn of dangers, such as asbestos.
privity of contract
The relationship which exists between the parties
to a contract.
product
A tangible item, as opposed to a service.
product liability
The liability of a manufacturer or seller of a product
that because of a defect, causes injury to a purchaser, user, or bystander.
product-line theory
A theory of successor liability whereby a corporation purchasing the assets of another is liable for the target company’s debts where the purchaser continues to manufacture the same product line as the target company, under the same name and with no outward indication of any change of ownership, even if the particular item was manufactured and sold by the target company prior to the acquisition. Usually applied only in product-liability cases.
proximate cause
A reasonably foreseeable consequence of the defendant’s negligence, without which no injury would have occurred.
reasonable-alternative-design requirement
A requirement in a product liability case that the plaintiff prove that defendant acted wrongly or negligently in choosing an unsafe design.
revival statute
State and federal statutes that allow plaintiffs to file lawsuits that have been barred by the running of the statute of limitations.
sophisticated user defense
An affirmative defense in a product liability case based on failure to warn whereby a manufacturer is not liable to a sophisticated user of its product for failure to warn of a risk, harm, or danger, if the sophisticated user knew or should have known of that risk, harm, or danger.
stat-of-the-art defense
A defense against claims based on a manufacturer’s compliance with the best available technology (that may or may not be synonymous with the custom and practice of the industry).
statute of limitations
A time limit, defined by the statute, within which a lawsuit must be brought.
statute of repose
A time limit that cuts off the right to assert a cause of action after a specified period of time from the date the product is sold.
subsequent remedial measures
A manufacturer’s later fix of a dangerous condition or improvement of a design in a product that has been found to be inherently defective.
unavoidably unsafe product
A product, such as a vaccine, that is generally beneficial but is known to have harmful side effects in some cases.
useful life statutes
Statutes that provide manufacturers and sellers protection from product liability claims after a specified period of time has elapsed since the product was sold.
