Chapter 10 Product Liability

Question 1

assumption of risk

Answer 1

The expressed or implied consent by plaintiff to defendant to take the chance of injury from a known and appreciated risk.

Question 2

comparative fault

Answer 2

Reduced recovery for an injured party because of misuse or abuse of manufacturer’s product.

Question 3

continuity-of-enterprise approach

Answer 3

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.

Question 4

design defect

Answer 4

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.

Question 5

discovery-of-injury statute

Answer 5

Statutes that provide that the statute of limitations does not begin to run until the person discovers the injury.

Question 6

failure to warn

Answer 6

Failure of a product to carry adequate warnings of the risks involved in the normal use of the product.

Question 7

government-contractor defense

Answer 7

The limited immunity available for manufacturers that produce products to the specifications of government contracts.

Question 8

idemnity

Answer 8

A right to reimbursement for loss.

Question 9

limited fund class action

Answer 9

A class action in which the total of the aggregated liquidated claims exceeds the fund available to satisfy them.

Question 10

manufacturing defect

Answer 10

A flaw in a product that occurs during production, such as a failure to meet the design specifications.

Question 11

market-share liability

Answer 11

The liability for damages caused by a manufacturer’s products assessed based on a manufacturer’s national market share.

Question 12

obvious risk

Answer 12

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.

Question 13

preemption defense

Answer 13

The immunity granted manufacturers if they meet minimum standards of conduct under certain regulatory schemes.

Question 14

premises liability

Answer 14

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.

Question 15

privity of contract

Answer 15

The relationship which exists between the parties

to a contract.

Question 16

product

Answer 16

A tangible item, as opposed to a service.

Question 17

product liability

Answer 17

The liability of a manufacturer or seller of a product

that because of a defect, causes injury to a purchaser, user, or bystander.

Question 18

product-line theory

Answer 18

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.

Question 19

proximate cause

Answer 19

A reasonably foreseeable consequence of the defendant’s negligence, without which no injury would have occurred.

Question 20

reasonable-alternative-design requirement

Answer 20

A requirement in a product liability case that the plaintiff prove that defendant acted wrongly or negligently in choosing an unsafe design.

Question 21

revival statute

Answer 21

State and federal statutes that allow plaintiffs to file lawsuits that have been barred by the running of the statute of limitations.

Question 22

sophisticated user defense

Answer 22

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.

Question 23

stat-of-the-art defense

Answer 23

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).

Question 24

statute of limitations

Answer 24

A time limit, defined by the statute, within which a lawsuit must be brought.

Question 25

statute of repose

Answer 25

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.

Question 26

subsequent remedial measures

Answer 26

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.

Question 27

unavoidably unsafe product

Answer 27

A product, such as a vaccine, that is generally beneficial but is known to have harmful side effects in some cases.

Question 28

useful life statutes

Answer 28

Statutes that provide manufacturers and sellers protection from product liability claims after a specified period of time has elapsed since the product was sold.