Products Liability
| Product Liability Law and the Reasonable Design Alternative Test |
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| In many product liability cases, the plaintiff alleges that a design defect was responsible for the injuries incurred. For example, in a product liability case alleging that a car's gas tank exploded in rear-end collisions, the plaintiff would allege that the car was defectively designed. In these types of cases, some courts have established a "reasonable design alternative" test. Under this test, a product is defective in design when the foreseeable risks of harm posed by the product could have been reduced or avoided by the adoption of a reasonable alternative design by the seller or other distributor and the omission of the alternative design renders the product not reasonably safe.
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| Learned Intermediary Doctrine and Oral Contraceptives |
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| In 1985, the Massachusetts Supreme Court carved out an exception to the learned intermediary doctrine for oral contraceptives. The court held that the manufacturer of an oral contraceptive could not rely on warnings to doctors to satisfy its duty to warn More... |
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| Statutes of Limitations and Statutes of Repose |
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| Products liability law deals with personal injuries and property damages caused by defective products. Statutes of limitations and statutes of repose set time limits for filing lawsuits. A lawsuit that is filed after the time period set out in the statute of limitations or the statute of repose is barred and will be dismissed by the court. It is important to check with an attorney to determine the time limit for filing a lawsuit if you have been injured or a defective product has damaged your property. More... |
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| Food Quality |
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| In 1996, Congress passed landmark food safety legislation called the Food Quality Protection Act (FQPA). The goal of the FQPA is to protect the public from harmful pesticide residues. Under prior law, the EPA established "tolerances" (maximum legal levels) for pesticide chemical residues in food. The FQPA considers pesticide tolerances as "safe" when there is a reasonable certainty that no harm will result from cumulative exposure to pesticide residues. These tolerances are based on a risk assessment that includes all anticipated dietary exposures and all other exposures for which there is reliable information. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) enforces tolerances for most foods. The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Services enforces tolerances for meat, poultry, and some egg products. More... |
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| The Restatements of Law |
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| Our common law developed from unwritten English law, which was based on tradition and custom. English common law is the foundation of our federal law and the law of all states, except Louisiana (which is based on French Civil Law). The most important characteristic of common law is that it is judge-made law rather than statutory or constitutional law. Under the common law system, current cases are decided using the precedents established by past judicial decisions.
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