The Law

A manufacturer/supplier is liable for any harm that a defect in its product was a substantial factor in bringing it about. A defect may be found where the product left the manufacturer and supplier's control lacking any element necessary to make it safe for its intended use or possessing any feature that rendered it unsafe for the intended use. Intended use includes any reasonably foreseeable use or misuse of a product.

Manufacturer and supplier of products from whom the law of strict product liability applies includes anyone in the chain of distribution engaged in the business of supplying products for use or consumption by the public, whether manufacturers, wholesalers, distributors, retailers or lessors. A defective condition, creating strict liability, is not limited to defects in the design or manufacture of a product. The manufacturer and supplier of a product must also provide such warnings and instructions as are necessary to inform the user or consumer of the possible risks and inherent limitations of the product in a form that will reach the ultimate consumer. The absence of such warnings or instructions may be considered a defect. The duty to provide a "non-defective" product is non-delegable.

The law of strict product liability concentrates on the safety of the product rather than on the reasonableness of the manufacturer and supplier's conduct. As a result, the manufacturer and supplier of a product may be liable for harm caused by its defective product even where it has exercised all possible care in the preparation and sale of its product. Factors which focus on the reasonableness of conduct or otherwise inject negligence principles, such as industry custom, industry standards or government regulatory or licensing standards (unless found to preempt state law) and the negligence or conduct of the injured person are irrelevant and inadmissible in a claim based on strict product liability. However, assumption of the risk remains a complete defense, where it can be shown that the injured person voluntarily chose to encounter a known risk by manifesting, under the circumstances, a conscious appreciation of and willingness to accept the danger posed by the defect in the product.