Traditional Product Liability and Negligence Laws Might Not Work with 3D Printed Items

In traditional consumer protection law, product liability laws state that manufacturers are held responsible for injuries and deaths caused by their products. These personal injuries range from food poisoning, slip and fall accidents, physical injuries such as broken bones or bruises, long-term physical injury such as physical limitations from a dangerous drug’s side effects, etc… However, as the popularity of 3D printed items grows, several people are questioning how consumers of items printed in-home can be protected if the item causes them injury.

While current 3D printing technology is fairly limited, the technology’s potential to reproduce consumer goods from shoes to dinnerware to handguns is boundless. Nora Freeman Engstrom, an associate professor of law at Stanford University, has conducted a study questioning the role of product liability and negligence lawsuits when it comes to this booming market.

“Following any significant technological breakthrough,” she writes, “legal scholars, practitioners, and policymakers must consider how the innovation meshes with—or poses challenges to—our existing laws and system of governance.

“Will it fit? What must change? Where are the pitfalls and opportunities? 3D printing is no exception.”

Currently, plaintiffs in product liability lawsuits who are injured by a defective product do not necessarily have to show that the maker or distributor of the product was negligent.

“This means,” she says, “if you fall ill from eating tainted peanut butter you purchased at, say, Wal-Mart, you can sue Wal-Mart for your injuries—and you can prevail in that lawsuit even if Wal-Mart used all possible care in the peanut butter’s selection, storage and sale.”

However, someone injured by an item printed by a 3D printer in their home would not be able to file a traditional product liability lawsuit. “[A] person injured by a home-printed product would likely only be left with a negligence-based lawsuit. Negligence focuses on proving that the manufacturer, distributor or seller of the product was careless – a higher hurdle [to prove in court],” Engstrom wrote.

Engstrom added, however, that the line between product liability and negligence lawsuits is “awfully thin.” This suggests that victims of a defective product could still file a negligence lawsuit against the person or company that created the design for the defective item.

However, she did point out that product liability cases as we currently understand them will change drastically if 3D printing technology really does take off and is not just a flash in the pan.

Product Liability and Negligence Lawsuits Due to Design Defects

A product can be unreasonably dangerous because of a design defect. A design defect occurs when the entire line of products produced by the manufacturer is unreasonably dangerous. Generally, to determine whether the product is unreasonably dangerous, states use some variation of a balancing test. The balancing test weights the utility of the product against the danger that it poses. In most cases, the plaintiff will offer proof of a “safer alternative design” that the manufacturer could have used which would have prevented the injury. The court will use the balancing test to weigh the feasibility of a “safer alternative design”, the cost and availability of safety features and the extent such modifications would diminish the product’s effectiveness.

The Strom Law Firm Protects Citizens Harmed Due to Product Liability or Negligence

The attorneys at the Strom Law Firm keep a close watch on recalls of dangerous and defective product recalls in the US. We aim to protect our clients’ health and safety, and hold manufacturers to the highest possible standard of safety. If you or a loved one have experienced severe, life-limiting side effects from a defective product or drug, and believe that your pain stems from a product recall that came too late, you may be entitled to compensation. The Strom Law Firm can help. We offer free, confidential consultations to discuss the facts of your case, so contact us today. 803.252.4800.