Section 11.23 Products Liability

• Library: Tort Law 2016

In East River Steamship Corp. v. Transamerica Delaval, Inc., 476 U.S. 858 (1986), the U.S. Supreme Court recognized that the law of products liability, including negligence and strict liability, is a part of the general maritime law. The policy underlying strict liability, that liability should be imposed on those parties who are best able to protect persons from hazardous products and equipment, applies in admiralty. The applicable substantive law of products liability in admiralty is § 402A of the Restatement (Second) of Torts (1965), which requires the plaintiff to prove that:

the defendant sold or manufactured the product; the product was unreasonably dangerous or was in a defective condition when it left the defendant’s control; and the defect resulted in injury to the plaintiff.

See, e.g., Lindsay v. McDonnell Douglas Aircraft Corp., 460 F.2d 631 (8^th Cir...