PRODUCT LIABILITY: WHAT ARE YOUR RIGHTS WHEN THINGS GO WRONG?
A BROAD INTERNATIONAL APPROACH TO A VITAL AREA OF LAW -- NOW IN A NEW THIRD EDITION


An appreciation by Elizabeth Robson Taylor MA of Richmond Green Chambers and Phillip Taylor MBE, Head of Chambers, Reviews Editor, “The Barrister”, and Mediator


‘Products’ be they shoes, or ships, or sealing wax, are those items or substances which are ‘produced', normally by human hand, or human agency. They manifest themselves in all shapes, sizes, forms, functions, and compositions.

Obviously, the presence of products is global. Their ubiquity is mind-blowingly obvious -- and the sheer variety of products available is well-nigh infinite, as over the years, new products and attendant services emerge almost daily, usually generated by perceived consumer need.

But if things go wrong with a product, what recourse is available to the consumer? The answers -- most of them -- and almost an infinite variety of them -- emanate from the law relating to product liability.

Fortunately for lawyers everywhere, especially when so many court proceedings are going virtual as remote hearings, the long established legal text on product liability, long regarded as definitive, is now out in a new third edition published by the Oxford University Press and written by two leading authorities in this field, Duncan Fairgrieve and Richard Goldberg.

Now completely updated from the previous edition of 2004, this new edition supplies that which has become rather desperately needed in these desperate times: a clear statement of the law of product liability in all its variety and complexity. Now long overdue, this edition certainly reflects the changes in the ways that most people now view products and how said products are marketed over the internet.

What has not changed too much since the ‘snail in the ginger beer’ case of Donoghue v. Stevenson is the vulnerability of the average consumer to product defects, some of which can and do threaten life and limb. The authors offer a (very) short list of these to include breast implants, pacemakers and hip protheses as well as faulty mountain bikes, motorcycles, car tyres ‘and even a coffee cup.’ Vaccines too are listed. How truly relevant to today.

Featuring prominently in the text, therefore, is a detailed discussion of, for example, the Consumer Protection Act 1987, concerned primarily with liability for defective products. Other areas discussed include liability in tort for negligence... product safety and the criminal law... conflict of laws -- and much more.

The latter especially, offers an international dimension to the text, as it covers not only the subject as it has developed in English law, but also provides numerous references to the equivalent laws in other jurisdictions, including the United States, Canada, New Zealand, France, and Germany. This of course will be directly relevant to those who practice in ‘an increasingly globalized market’ in which we all seek to prosper.

Within its more than a thousand pages, this text covers every conceivable aspect of this wide-ranging and often complex subject where the continuing focus is on duty of care. Certainly, lawyers will appreciate its accessibility and clarity, as will many a litigant in person. Indeed, this is a particularly useful reference for professionals who must construct quite intricate skeleton arguments for court hearings on product liability litigation.

Lawyers and the judiciary too, as well as researchers, should be jolly grateful to OUP for keeping us all up to date with developments in this important, fast changing, and vital area of the law.

The date of publication of this hardback third edition is 9th May 2020.