In: Operations Management
why are the fold and manufacturing industries particularly susceptible to product liability suits?
It must be noted that the products are designed with utmost care
to ensure the safe and sound usage by the users but if there is any
kind of unforeseeable inappropriate application of the product
then, in this case, the manufacturer cannot be made
responsible.
A manufacturer can be found guilty of breach of his or her legal
duty to take the reasonable care while designing the products for
making sure that the normal use of the product does not provide any
harm to the users. A producer can be held responsible for the
injuries incurred by the customer or consumer if due care and
warnings are not provided while designing and manufacturing the
product. Apart from this, it is the responsibility of the
manufacturer to provide due warning where there is a chance or
probability of any kind of injuries to the user.
The main reason for encountering the increased number of cases against the manufacturers for product liability is that in most of the cases, the users do not take care of the guidelines provided by the producer on how to use the products. These instructions are mainly avoided by the users in most of the cases. In fact, a number of cases have been observed where despite due warning plates and labels, the customer is using the product in such a manner that there are greater chances of having physical injuries. When such kinds of events happen, the user of the injured person simply blames the manufacturer or to the design of the product.