Product liability

摘要

1. Product liability law was shaped by a 1932 case concerning a contaminated bottle of ginger beer served in a cafe in Paisley. The House of Lords held that the manufacturer was liable, even though no contract existed between it and the consumerrn2. The law required that the claimants proved negligence by the manufacturer; but the tragic birth defects caused by the anti-emetic drug thalidomide taken during pregnancy demonstrated that the law was inadequate - at the time, it had not been known that the drug could pass through the placenta to the developing foetus.