PHIL 3310 Lecture Notes - Lecture 6: Consumer Product Safety Act, Caveat Emptor, Product Liability
22 May 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
Chapter 6
Study Guide 6-(Consumers)
1. What is the basis for determining business’ responsibility to consumers especially in
today’s economy?
a. Business’ responsibility to consumers especially in today’s economy derives from
the fact that they depend on business to satisfy their many and varied material
needs and wants. The increasing complexity of today’s economy is based on their
survival and enrichment that have heightened business’s responsibilities to the
consumers- especially in product safety.
2. What recourse does the consumer have if injured by a defective product?
a. If any consumer is injured by a defective product, the consumer has the right to
sue the manufacturer of that product.
3. What are the moral and legal responsibilities of business with regard to products sold to
consumers?
a. The legal and moral responsibility of business is the doctrine of strict product
liability. The strict product liability holds that the manufacturer of a product has
legal responsibilities to compensate the user of that product for injuries suffered
because the product’s defective condition made it unreasonable dangerous
regardless of whether the manufacturer was negligent in permitting that defect to
occur.
4. The doctrine of due care replaced the notion of caveat emptor. Define and describe the
doctrines of due care and caveat emptor.
a. Caveat emptor literally means let the buyer beware. Caveat emptor is putting the
blame on the consumers for buying a defected product. Due care is the idea that
consumers and sellers do not meet as equals and that the consumer’s interests are
particularly vulnerable to being harmed by the manufacturer, who has knowledge
and expertise the consumer does not have. Due care is making the manufacturer
responsible for a defected product.
5. What is the doctrine of strict product liability and what are the basic arguments in its
favor?
a. Strict product liability hold the manufacturer responsible for the product being
defective based on usury. The manufacturer must take legal responsibility to
compensate a consumer for defective products. The argument of the strict product
liability is basically utilitarian. First, it advocates contend that inly such policy
will induce firms to bend over backward to guarantee product safety. Second,
proponents of strict product liability contend the manufacturer is best able to bear
the cost of injuries due to defects.
6. What is the Consumer Product Safety Act? What provisions does that Act make for
protecting the public?
a. The Consumer Product Safety Act is used to protect the public “against
unreasonable risks of injury associated with consumer products.” The five-
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Define and describe the doctrines of due care and caveat emptor: caveat emptor literally means let the buyer beware. Caveat emptor is putting the blame on the consumers for buying a defected product. Due care is the idea that consumers and sellers do not meet as equals and that the consumer"s interests are particularly vulnerable to being harmed by the manufacturer, who has knowledge and expertise the consumer does not have. The manufacturer must take legal responsibility to compensate a consumer for defective products. The argument of the strict product liability is basically utilitarian. First, it advocates contend that inly such policy will induce firms to bend over backward to guarantee product safety. Outline those concerns: critics worry about economic costs. New safety standards add millions of dollars to the cumulative price tag of various goods. Recalls are also very expensive and that takes a toll on a manufacturer.
