Grass Green Company makes and sells hedge trimmers, which are designed to be safe if used properly. Hazel buys a Grass Green trimmer and lends it to her neighbor Ike. In his garage, Ike is using the trimmer as a prod to dislodge a box from a high shelf when the trimmer suddenly engages. Startled, Ike drops the trimmer, which swings around and cuts his leg. Ike files a product liability suit against Grass Green, on the ground of negligence. On what basis could the manufacturer prevail?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

A manufacturer or seller can prevail in a product liability suit based on negligence if the manufacturer designed its product to be safe for proper uses, even if the product was not designed to be safe for unforeseeable, improper uses, such as the use in this question.A manufacturer is negligent if it breaches the duty to exercise reasonable care in the design or manufacture of its product, or warnings about the product, and this breach causes injuries. In other words, liability may be found if a product is unsafe because of negligence in its manufacture, assembly, testing, or inspection. Even if all reasonable care is taken, the manufacturer may be liable if the design of the product makes it unreasonably dangerous for the uses for which the product is made. A manufacturer must also be liable for failing to include a warning if the manufacturer knows the product is dangerous when used as intended or as could reasonably be foreseen, and users are not likely to be aware of the danger.But a manufacturer has no liability, when its product is reasonably safe for proper uses and foreseeable, improper uses, and is used in an unforeseeable, improper way.