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Indiana Area Codes Available
219, 260, 574
Indiana Area Codes Taken
317, 765, 812
Condominium Conversions - The law office of Alexander and Associates specializes in condo conversions and real estate law.
Personal injury attorney lawyer serving Indianapolis and all of Indiana.
Strict Liability
What Is Strict Liability
Unlike litigation against a pilot or operator, a claim against a manufacturer does not require proof that negligence caused the accident. In almost all states, a victim can hold a manufacturer or seller "strictly liable" if it can be proven that a defect in the product was a cause of the injuries.
The doctrine of "strict product liability" was created to make it easier to sue manufacturers in product defect cases by switching the focus to the safety of the product rather than the conduct of the person using the product, in this context an aircraft. The judges who created these laws have said that manufacturers in a high-risk industry must design, manufacture and warn in accordance with the foreseeable risks of using their product.
Product liability law varies from state to state. In several states, a manufacturer may be held strictly liable for a defective product if the product is "unreasonably dangerous" for use by an ordinary consumer. A growing majority of states use a slightly different analysis called a "risk-benefit" analysis. In those states a manufacturer may be held strictly liable if the product fails to perform as safely as an ordinary consumer would expect the product to perform when it is used in a reasonably foreseeable manner. The "risk-benefit" analysis test requires the jury to decide if the risk associated with the design of the product outweighs the benefits of the design. In an aviation strict liability claim, the jury will decide whether there is an alternative, mechanically feasible design for the product that could have been implemented by the manufacturer at the time it was sold. The focus is on the "state-of the-art" at the time of manufacture.
Three Types of Strict Product Liability
- To establish strict liability in a product liability lawsuit, the plaintiff must show that:
- The product was defective when it left the defendant's control
- That the product was used in the intended manner or a reasonably foreseeable manner
- That the product caused plaintiff's injury.
- Strict liability can arise as a result of a defect in design, manufacture, or failure to warn.
Design Defect
A design defect is one in which a whole product line or every product or that particular model is dangerously deficient. This is where courts apply the "unreasonably dangerous" test or a combination of the consumer expectations and "risk-benefit" test to determine if the design is defective.
Manufacturing Defect
If the manufacturer fails to fabricate the product correctly, a manufacturing defect may exist. Thus, if the finished product is substandard by comparison to identical products in that product line, the manufacturer may be held liable for causing the anomaly and failing to catch the defect, before it was sold to a consumer. Manufacturing defects include the use of substandard materials, faulty assembly, etc.
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Strict Liability » Attorneys and Lawyers Serving Lake Co., Marion Co. and St. Joseph Co. Indiana
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317.572.7717 Bloomington
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317.572.7717 South Bend
317.572.7717 Valparaiso
317.572.7717 West Lafayette
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