Product liability and failure analysis

The importance of an understanding of the basics of product liability law by failure analysts and by those involved in the design and manufacture of products is discussed. The development of product liability law is reviewed, including the principles of negligence, strict liability and implied warranty, and express warranty and misrepresentation. This is done primarily in the context of the USA and Canada, although reference is made to the situation in other countries. The nature of a defect is discussed, the two types being a production defect and a design defect. The establishment of a product liability case is outlined, and some discussion is given of failure analysis to determine the presence of a defect in actual cases.