What are “Unavoidably Unsafe” Products?

Accident attorney Santa Monica is not always limited to car accidents cases, but on cases regarding product defects and malfunction as well. A product liability claim is filed by the plaintiff to the attorney on the basis of negligence and misrepresentation on the part of the manufacturer. As long as a product inflicted an injury towards the product user because of a defect not taken care of by the manufacturer, the product user can file a lawsuit against the producers of that product.

Commonly, a product can be defective in three different ways. The insufficient warnings and instructions supplied on the product are seen as a marketing defect. A defect in the manufacturing of the product, with the product’s good design and marketing intact, is seen as a manufacturing defect. A defective product design is evident if its design can result to an injury and must be eliminated through a design alternative.

Any of the three product defects mentioned that would subsequently cause an injury makes the manufacturer or the seller of the product liable for the damages. However, there are products that are exempt of defects. These products are called “unavoidably unsafe”. They are not, in nature, dangerous, but they are rather intentionally unsafe in order for them to function or serve their purpose.

Legal systems are able to differentiate unavoidably unsafe products from dangerous ones. Courts look at the following guidelines in order to determine “unavoidably unsafe” products, and here are four requirements:

• The manner in which the product is prepared

A mistake made during the manufacturing process can make the product ineffective or harmful to use; therefore, the product can’t be unavoidably unsafe.

• The manner in which the product is marketed

Poor labeling and lack of instructions and warnings of the product won’t make it unavoidably unsafe. This is mostly applicable in prescription drugs, in which some are considered unavoidably unsafe.

•  The utility and risk ratio of the product

The usefulness of a product should always prevail over its risk of danger. A product, hence, must not need to work its wonders in order for it to be useful.

• Available alternatives of the product

According to the legal system, an “unavoidably unsafe” product must not have any alternatives in order for it to serve its function.

There are a lot of unavoidably unsafe products that were described by the courts. One of the most widely known products that fall under this category is prescription medication. Others would include industrial household cleaning products and cosmetics.