product liability. Flashcards
What was the purpose of the Product Liability Directive
The PLD was created to standardize product liability laws across the EU, making it easier to hold producers accountable for unsafe products, even if they weren’t at fault.
How did the PLD change the approach to product liability?
The PLD removed the need to prove fault. Producers are liable if a product is unsafe, even if they didn’t act carelessly. The focus shifted to the safety expectations of consumers.
What is the aim of the recitals in the PLD?
The recitals explain the goal of harmonizing product liability laws to prevent competition harm and uneven consumer protection across the EU, ensuring fair risk distribution for producers.
- The recitals explain why the laws were made. The main goal is to protect consumers from faulty product and makes sure they can get compensation if they get harmed by a defective product.
- The goal of the recital is to protect consumers. It holds producers liable for any defect product.
Who qualifies as a “producer” under the PLD?
A producer includes manufacturers, raw material processors, anyone who puts their name on a product, and anyone who imports products into the EU for sale.
Anyone who manufactures a product or is responsible for placing a product on the market within the European union is considered a producer.
What happens if you can’t identify the producer of a product?
If the producer cannot be identified, the seller may be held liable if they fail to identify the producer within a reasonable time.
What is considered a “product” under the PLD?
A product is anything movable, including raw materials, parts of larger products, and even electricity if it causes damage.
anything that is moveable that put on the market.
anything that does not move is not considered a product. such as a land or building.
What defines a “defective” product under the PLD?
A product is defective if it doesn’t meet reasonable safety expectations based on how it’s presented, how it’s likely to be used, and when it was made.
What is the burden of proof in a product liability case?
The injured party must prove damage, a defect in the product, and that the defect caused the damage. This can be difficult, especially with complex products like med
What kind of damages can be claimed under the PLD?
Damages can include death, personal injury, or property damage (excluding the defective product itself), provided the property is for private use or consumption.
What is the time limit for taking legal action under the PLD?
Legal action must be taken within 3 years from the injury or when the injury was discovered, but no later than 10 years from when the product was first sold or used.
What defences can a producer use to avoid liability?
Producers can argue they didn’t sell the product, there was no defect at the time of sale, the product wasn’t made for sale, or they followed legal regulations, among other defences.
- What does “causation” mean in the context of product liability?
Causation refers to proving that a defect in a product directly caused the injury or damage.
Richardson v LRC Products Ltd [2000]
In Richardson v LRC Products Ltd, the plaintiff (pl) argued that a condom failure was due to a defect, but the defendant suggested that it could have failed because it was exposed to sunlight in the plaintiff’s bathroom.
Why the court didn’t use the material contribution test:
The material contribution test is used when there are multiple possible causes, and it allows a claim even if the defendant’s product was just one of those causes.
But here, the court required the plaintiff to rule out the more likely causes (like the sunlight) and couldn’t prove the defect was the main cause. the court ruled in favour of the LRC.
What does the “contributory negligence” rule mean in product liability cases?
If the injured party is partly responsible for their injury, their compensation may be reduced based on their level of fault.
What is the AI Liability Directive?
The AI Liability Directive aims to make it easier to bring cases when AI systems cause harm by providing mechanisms to prove causation and holding AI providers accountable for damage caused by their systems.
What is the presumption of causation in the AI Liability Directive?
If an AI system causes harm and the provider fails to disclose evidence or meet safety standards, courts may assume the AI system’s fault caused the harm unless proven otherwise.
What challenges does the AI Liability Directive address?
It addresses the difficulty of proving causation in AI-related harm and the issue of identifying who is responsible for damage caused by AI systems.
How does the AI Liability Directive address “fault-based recovery”?
The Directive allows for fault-based recovery by requiring providers of high-risk AI systems to share evidence if their system is suspected to have caused harm.
What is the “black box” problem in AI?
The “black box” problem refers to the difficulty in understanding how AI systems make decisions, which makes it challenging to prove that AI caused harm.
How does the AI Liability Directive address cases with multiple responsible parties?
Answer: If multiple parties (e.g., a surgeon and an AI manufacturer) are responsible for the same harm, they can be held jointly and severally liable, meaning the victim can sue any of them for the full amount of damage
What is the “regulatory compliance defence” in product liability?
The producer can defend themselves by proving that the defect was due to following legal or regulatory requirements at the time of production.
