Lawyer Monthly - January 2022 Edition

hat is the basic premise of product liability law? Product liability is the term used to describe the legal liability of manufacturers or sellers of goods to compensate buyers, users or bystanders for damages or injuries suffered because of a defect in the product. Product liability, in general, is incredibly broad as “product” can refers to any tangible property. The question that we are usually trying to answer is whether or not the injury was because the product was W Product Liability Cases 59 JAN 2022 | WWW.LAWYER-MONTHLY.COM EXPERT WITNESS unreasonably dangerous, or whether it was a result of improper use, carelessness or some other reason. What key laws and regulations oversee product liability in the US? There are very rarely specific legal requirements that apply directly to manufacturers or distributors of equipment. OSHA regulations are law, but only for the employer. Consensus standards from organisations like ANSI and ASME provide good information and best practices, but compliance is voluntary; they are not legal requirements. What it usually comes down to is whether or not the manufacturer or distributor should have been aware of the risk, and whether they took appropriate steps to reduce the risk to acceptable levels. OSHA regulations and voluntary standards are a great place to start. If the product is not in compliance with the applicable standards, it is very likely that the risk is high and the product it is not as safe as it should be. However, even if a product is in compliance with all of the applicable standards, it can still be unsafe. What should manufacturers be doing to ensure they have reduced their product’s risks to acceptable levels? Manufacturers should include risk assessments throughout their development process. They should also perform and document risk assessments on existing products. There are multiple books, documents and consensus ANSI standards that describe the design review and risk assessment process. Some of my favorites are ANSI B11.19, ANSI B11.TR3, ANSI Z590.3, and Military Standards 882D and E. During the risk assessment process, the manufacturer (or a consultant like us) takes deliberate steps to The question that we are usually trying to answer is whether or not the injury was because the product was unreasonably dangerous, or whether it was a result of improper use, carelessness or some other reason. The Nuances of Advising on Risk assessments and safety analyses are a crucial means of determining a product’s suitability to be handled by users. But how do manufacturers often bypass these steps, and what can happen when legal action is brought against them? David Smith, Vice President of Alpine Engineering & Design, offers his insights into product liability lawsuits and the role expert witnesses can play.