Would a Warning Have Prevented the Accident?

Abstract

After products liability tort reform has run its course, and the insurance crisis has been resolved, manufacturers will still be held responsible for defective products that fail prematurely causing injury, property damage and commercial loss. This products liability responsibility has two aspects which should be clearly distinguished by forensic engineers. The first, has little to do with recent developments in products liability law and simply involves a forensic engineers understanding of the more traditional factors that result in safe, quality products, through the establishment within the company of sound management, design and manufacturing practices. The second aspect of effective accident investigation, litigation or consulting with industry, demands an understanding of the concepts and trends in products liability case law as it relates to the product safety and liability responsibility of manufacturers. The following paper describes some of the concepts of products l