This timely guide covers all aspects of litigation involving drugs, medical devices, vaccines and other FDA-regulated prescription products.

Drawing on liability insurance trends and litigation patterns, Viscusi shows that the products liability crisis is has been developing for decades. He argues that the principal causes have been the expansion of the doctrine of design defect, the emergence of mass toxic torts, and an increase in lawsuits involving hazard warnings.

Product Liability is a recognised authority in the field and covers the product liability laws through which manufacturers, retailers, and others may be held liable to compensate persons who are injured, or who incur financial loss, when the products which they manufacture or sell are defective or not fit for their purpose. Product defects may originate in the production process, be one of design, or be grounded in a failure to issue an adequate warning or directions for safe use and practitioners advising business clients or claimants will find this book provides all the necessary information for practitioners to manage a product liability claim. This new edition has been fully updated to take account of 10 years of development in case law and regulation, and the increasing impact of cross-border and transnational sale of goods. The Court of Justice of the European Union handed down major rulings concerning the Product Liability Directive which affect the application of the Directive and national arrangements and Fairgrieve and Goldberg examines this in detail. For any legal practitioner operating in areas which require knowledge of European product liability law, an understanding of the impact of recent developments is essential and this work is an essential resource for practitioners working on product liability, sale of goods, personal injury and negligence. The work provides comprehensive coverage of the law of negligence as it applies to product liability, of the strict liability provisions of the Consumer Protection Act 1987, and of the EU's Product Liability Directive on which the Act is based. Although the majority of cases involve pharmaceuticals and medical devices, in recent English cases the allegedly defective products have been as diverse as a child's buggy, an All Terrain Vehicle, and even a coffee cup. Many cases are brought as group actions, and the book examines the rights of those who are injured by defective products. As well as considering the perspective of the law as it has developed in the UK, this edition contains detailed discussion of case law from other jurisdictions including the USA, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, France and Germany. The coverage in the work is complemented by a full analysis of issues which arise in transnational litigation involving problems of jurisdiction and the choice of laws.

Products liability law is often confusing because it is in a state of constant flux as it confronts a number of challenges. Some such challenges are well known, such as the battle over the comparative merits of the Second and Third Restatements of Torts. Other, equally important challenges have, however, been overlooked by other texts, such as the growing use of bankruptcy protection laws to limit the consequences of supplying defective products (as in the recent bailout-supported cases of General Motors and Chrysler), and this book sets out to rectify such omissions. While other books leave the reader to sink or swim in a swamp of apparently contradictory doctrine, Products Liability Law: Cases, Commentary, and Conundra lays out from the beginning the five elements common to all products liability claims. It then builds on this foundation by tackling each new area of the law in a lucid and reader-friendly manner, while explaining how each doctrine relates to the politico-economic and historical context in which the law operates. Supplementing the text with numerous original flowcharts, tables, and other diagrams--as well as asking thoughtful questions along the way--this book charts a careful and comprehensible course through the often tempestuous battleground of products liability law.

Focus the expertise & practical advice of Products Liability, Second Edition on your next trial. This invaluable courtroom aid puts at your fingertips all the information you need to organize a powerful products liability case. Citing extensive trial & appellate case law, this volume gives the practicing attorney the latest developments for attacking or defending with greater precision & effect. Products Liability challenges hidebound interpretations & finds new approaches to dogmatic rules (such as unforseeable misuse, contributory illegality, etc.). This treatise will ignite your imagination to use these rules to create opportunities, not limit your options.

Thirty years after the entry into force of the Directive on liability for defective products (Council Directive 85/374/EEC), and in the light of the threat to user safety posed by consumer goods that make use of new technologies, it is essential to assess and determine whether the Directive remains an adequate legal response to the phenomenon of products brought to market that fail to ensure appropriate levels of safety for their users. This book is the result of an extensive international research project funded by the Polish National Science Centre. Individual country reports analyze the implementation of the Directive in the domestic law of several EU and EEA Member States (namely Austria, Czech Republic, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Spain, and Switzerland) and the relationship of the implemented rules with the already existing rules of tort law. The country reports show that the practical significance of product liability differs widely in the various Member States. Also taking into account non-EU countries (Canada, Israel, South Africa and the USA), this book examines whether EU law will ensure sufficient safety for individuals using goods that have been produced using new technologies that are currently under development. This, as well as an economic analysis of product liability, makes the book valuable for academics, practitioners, policy makers, and all those interested in the subject. (Series: Principles of European Tort Law) Subject: Tort Law, Private Law]