{{short description, Legal test for determining manufacturer liability for a defective product
In legal disputes regarding
product liability
Product liability is the area of law in which manufacturers, distributors, suppliers, retailers, and others who make products available to the public are held responsible for the injuries those products cause. Although the word "product" has br ...
, a consumer expectations test is used to determine whether the
product
Product may refer to:
Business
* Product (business), an item that serves as a solution to a specific consumer problem.
* Product (project management), a deliverable or set of deliverables that contribute to a business solution
Mathematics
* Produ ...
is
negligently
Negligence (Lat. ''negligentia'') is a failure to exercise appropriate and/or ethical ruled care expected to be exercised amongst specified circumstances. The area of tort law known as ''negligence'' involves harm caused by failing to act as a ...
manufactured or whether a
warning on the product is
defective
Defective may refer to::
*Defective matrix, in algebra
*Defective verb, in linguistics
*Defective, or ''haser'', in Hebrew orthography, a spelling variant that does not include mater lectionis
*Something presenting an anomaly, such as a product de ...
. Under this
test
Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to:
* Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities
Arts and entertainment
* ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film
* ''Test'' (2014 film), ...
, the product is considered defective if a reasonable consumer would find it defective. As an example, a reasonable consumer might find exposed blades on a lawnmower, without plastic guards that could be installed for pennies, to be defective because the risk of not having the plastic guards is higher than the costs of installing those guards.
The test is typically applied to non-complex products which consumers might have expectations for. For example, consumers will typically not have specific safety expectations revolving around the design of
landing gear
Landing gear is the undercarriage of an aircraft or spacecraft that is used for takeoff or landing. For aircraft it is generally needed for both. It was also formerly called ''alighting gear'' by some manufacturers, such as the Glenn L. Martin ...
on an airplane except for the fact that they do not want, or expect, to crash while the plane is landing.
A closely related test is
risk-utility test
In legal disputes regarding product liability, a risk-utility test is used to determine whether a product's design or warning is defective, thereby making the manufacturer liable for injuries caused by its product.
The manufacturer is held liabl ...
. Traditionally, the risk-utility test was used for design defects, while the consumer expectation test was applied to manufacturing defects. However, some jurisdictions apply the consumer expectation test to design defects as well. ''See'' Calles v. Scripto-Tokai Corp., 2007 WL 495315 (Ill. Feb. 16, 2007).
The official definition of consumer expectation test: An unreasonably dangerous product is one that is dangerous to an extent beyond that which would be contemplated by the ordinary consumer who purchases it, with the ordinary knowledge common to the community of its characteristics.
This test is commonly applied in product liability cases in the United States.
In the European Union, the European Council Directive on General Product Safety 2001/95/EC states (at Article 3(f)) that the conformance of a product to a general safety requirement shall be assessed taking into account "reasonable customer expectations regarding safety" (amongst other considerations)
Tort law
Legal tests