Introduction

This chapter looks at the development of tort law and its application to product-related injuries. Thus, it considers both the tort of negligence and the policy lying behind the development of strict liability.

The chapter is structured as follows. Section 2 considers the background to the development of the law of negligence and strict liability and the relationship between the two legal regimes.

Section 3 considers the development of the law of negligence and introduces the essential elements of the tort, namely, (i) the duty of care as enunciated in Donoghue v. Stevenson, which laid down that the manufacturer of a product owes a duty of care in respect of that product; (ii) the persons to whom the duty is owed as identified through the ‘neighbour principle’ as laid down by Lord Atkin in Donoghue v. Stevenson; (iii) the standard of care owed by the manufacturer; (iv) the impact of any intermediate inspection; (v) the need to establish a breach of the duty of care; and (vi) the impact of contributory negligence on liability.

Section 4 introduces the concept of strict liability and the change in emphasis away from the fault of the manufacturer and towards the defectiveness of the product.