torts uworld Flashcards
A commercial supplier is strictly liable for harm resulting from the supplier’s failure to provide adequate warnings or instructions regarding a foreseeable misuse of its product.
Therefore, the foreseeability of high-speed driving by youthful drivers (misuse of the sports car) necessitates an adequate warning.
Under the doctrine of negligence per se, an unexcused violation of a statute (eg, the car enthusiast’s speeding violation) is automatically deemed negligent if the statute was designed to prevent the kind of accident that occurred.
However, in a pure comparative fault jurisdiction (default rule), the car enthusiast’s contributory negligence will merely reduce recovery by his share of fault—not bar his strict liability claim.
A commercial supplier must provide reasonable instructions or warnings about any foreseeable and unobvious risk posed by its product.
Reasonableness is determined by (1) the content and comprehensibility of the warnings or instructions, (2) the intensity of the warnings or instructions, and (3) the characteristics of the expected user groups.
