Exam 6: Product and Strict Liability

When the containers of a product are not tamperproof, it is termed as a ________.

When a drug manufacturer places prescription drugs in containers that can be easily opened by children, the manufacturer can be subjected to strict liability action due to defect in packaging.

The plaintiff in a product liability lawsuit has suffered $100,000 worth of damages from an automobile accident. A defect in manufacture of the plaintiff's vehicle is found to be 60 percent responsible for the accident, while the plaintiff's own negligence is 40 percent responsible. Under the doctrine of comparative negligence, how much would the defendant-the manufacturer of the vehicle-have to pay the plaintiff in damages?

The doctrine of strict liability applies to sellers and lessors of products who are engaged in the business of selling and leasing products.

________ refers to a statute that requires an injured person to bring an action within a certain number of years from the time that he or she was injured by a defective product.

Any alteration or modification of a product after it leaves the seller's possession can make the seller strictly liable for injuries caused by the product.

A tamperproof seal on a product is considered as a defect in packaging.

Spring Stream sells bottled water that it claims contains vital minerals and salts not found in rival brands. The company also claims that using tamperproof seals on the bottles would minimize the health benefits of the water. As a result, some merchants refill the used water bottles with contaminated water and resell them. People who drink the water suffer from various water-borne diseases. Which of the following forms the grounds on which affected customers can bring a strict liability lawsuit against Spring Stream?

________ refers to monetary damages that are awarded to punish a defendant who either intentionally or recklessly injured the plaintiff.

Which of the following is NOT a common type of product defect upon which a strict liability lawsuit may be based?

Compare the tort doctrines of negligence and misrepresentation.

Under the doctrine of strict liability, a plaintiff cannot recover punitive damages for reckless conduct of the defendant.

The term ________ refers to a defense that says a person who is injured by a defective product but has been negligent and is partially responsible for his or her own injuries cannot recover from the defendant.

________ is a defect that occurs when a manufacturer does not provide detailed directions for safe assembly and use of a product.

Under the defense of contributory negligence, if Mary is partially responsible for her injuries, then she can recover partial damages from the defendant.

Manufacturers and others in the chain of distribution are not strictly liable for failure to provide adequate instructions on assembly and use of a product.

What is the purpose of the crashworthiness doctrine?

Failure to properly assemble a product constitutes a defect in design by the manufacturer.

A seller of a defective product cannot be held strictly liable if it can be proved that he or she took all possible care in the preparation and sale of the product.

The term ________ refers to the doctrine that applies to strict liability actions that says a plaintiff who is contributorily negligent for his or her injuries is responsible for a proportional share of the damages.