More Products Liability: Common “Defenses” to Strict Products Liability Claims
INTRODUCTION
The previous chapter considered the elements a plaintiff must establish to recover on a claim for “strict products liability.”[1]We saw that strict products liability allows an injured party to recover against a seller for personal injury or property damage caused by defective products. We also saw that proof that a product was defective depends on the type of defect alleged. A plaintiff who claims injury from a manufacturing defect may recover by proving that the product was dangerously defective, but need not prove that negligence by the manufacturer led to the defect. However, in design defect and failure to warn cases, the plaintiff must make a showing that looks very much like negligent conduct by the manufacturer.