Product Liability and Accident Investigations

This chapter covers the legal aspects of liability and a number of legal cases, with the intention of informing the reader regarding items that must be considered in the design of safe medical devices and systems. The cases inform as to the readers' possible future as a forensics or accident investigation engineer. A plaintiff in a product liability action grounded in negligence, then, must establish a breach of the manufacturer's or seller's duty to exercise reasonable care in the manufacture and preparation of a product. There are three types of breaches of warranty that may be alleged: breach of the implied warranty of merchantability, breach of the implied warranty of fitness for a particular purpose, and breach of an express warranty. Product liability cases alleging unsafe design may be divided into three basic categories: cases involving concealed dangers, cases involving a failure to provide appropriate safety features, and cases involving construction materials of inadequate strength.