Journal of Technical Writing and Communication Apr 1992

Products Liability: Meeting Legal Standards for Adequate Instructions

Pamela S. Helyar Bennett Aerospace (United States)

Abstract

Products liability law requires manufacturers to supply adequate instructions with products when consumers need them to safely and effectively use the products. This article spells out what the courts say should go into directions and warnings to make them legally adequate. In a nutshell, the courts mandate that instructions contain complete, accurate, and tested directions that consumers can readily notice and follow. Further, instructions must meet government, industry, and company standards. And, for products that can cause harm, the instructions must warn of potential hazards.

Journal
Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
Published
1992-04-01
DOI
10.2190/6kca-5d22-00q9-a5fg
CompPile
Search in CompPile ↗
Open Access
Closed
Export
BibTeX RIS

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (7)

  1. Digmayer et al. (2022)
    Analyzing Safety Communication in Industrial Contexts
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  2. Agboka (2020)
    Legally Minded Technical Communicators: A Case Study of a Legal Writing Course
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  3. Todd (2014)
    Avoiding Litigation for Product Instructions and Warnings
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  4. Hannah (2010)
    Legal Literacy: Coproducing the Law in Technical Communication
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  5. Lipus (2006)
    International Consumer Protection: Writing Adequate Instructions for Global Audiences
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
Show all 7 →
  1. Klein et al. (1997)
    Policies and Procedures
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  2. Cooper (1996)
    The Postmodern Space of Operator's Manuals
    Technical Communication Quarterly

References (82)

  1. Dungworth T., Product Liability & The Business Sector: Litigation Trends in Federal Courts, RAND Corporation,…
  2. Moran v. Faberge, Inc., 332 A.2d 11, 15 (Md. App. 1975).
     ↗
  3. Cooley v. Carter-Wallace Inc., 478 N.Y.S.2d 375, 376–80 (N.Y. App. Div. 4th Dept. 1984). Courts weigh “the se…
  4. Laaperi v. Sears, Roebuck & Co., 787 F.2d 726, 729–33 (1st Cir. 1986). A father recovered on a claim for negl…
  5. Sharton v. J. H. Westerbeke Corp., 415 N.E.2d 880, 881–82 (Mass. App. 1981). A sailboat owner recovered the l…
     ↗
Show all 82 →
  1. Miller Industries v. Caterpillar Tractor Co., 733 F.2d 813, 820 (11th Cir.), reh'g and reh'g en banc denied (…
  2. Andersen v. Teamsters Local 116 Building Club, Inc., 347 N.W.2d 309, 311 note 2 (N.D. 1984), citing North Dak…
  3. White v. Amoco Oil Co., 835 F.2d 1113, 1118–19 (5th Cir.), reh'g denied (1988).
  4. Jackson v. Coast Paint and Lacquer Co., 499 F.2d 809, 812–813 (9th Cir. 1974). Instructions on a paint contai…
  5. Ross K. (1981)
    Journal of Products Liability
  6. Spruill v. Boyle-Midway, Inc., 308 F.2d 79, 83–84, 86 (4th Cir. 1962).
  7. Borel v. Fibreboard Paper Products Corp., 493 F.2d 1076, 1089, 1090, 1104 (5th Cir. 1973), reh'g and reh'g en…
  8. Moran v. Johns-Manville Sales Corp., 691 F.2d 811, 814 (6th Cir. 1982).
  9. McGuire v. Joseph E. Seagram & Sons, 790 S.W.2d 842, 851 (Tex. App. Beaumont), reh'g denied (1990).
  10. Campos v. Firestone Tire & Rubber Co., 485 A.2d 305, 309–10 (N.J. 1984). An illiterate mechanic received seri…
  11. Salter J. H-. (1989)
    The Computer/Law Journal
  12. Birnbaum L. N. (1988)
    The Computer/Law Journal
  13. Huffman v. Caterpillar Tractor Co., 908 F.2d 1470, 1478 (10th Cir.), reh'g and reh'g en banc denied (1990). W…
  14. Berkebile v. Brantley Helicopter Corp., 337 A.2d 893, 902 (Pa. 1975).
  15. American Optical Co. v. Weidenhamer, 404 N.E.2d 606, 615–18 (Ind. App.), reh'g denied (1980). The directions …
  16. Bass L., Products Liability: Design and Manufacturing Defects, McGraw-Hill Book Company, New York, pp. 205, 2…
  17. Tompkins v. Log Systems, Inc., 385 S.E.2d 545, 548 (N.C. App. 1989), appeal denied, 389 S.E.2d 819 (N.C. 1990).
  18. Downing v. Overhead Door Corp., 707 P.2d 1027, 1032–33 (Colo. App.), reh'g and cert. denied (1985).
  19. Edwards v. California Chemical Co., 245 So.2d 259, 265 (Fla. App.), reh'g denied (1971).
  20. McNeal v. Hi-Lo Powered Scaffolding, Inc., 836 F.2d 637, 643–44 (D.C. Cir. 1988).
  21. Bottazzi v. Petroleum Helicopters, Inc., 664 F.2d 49, 52 (5th Cir. 1981). Botazzi recovered compensation for …
  22. Gemignani M. C. (1988)
    Rutgers Computer & Technology Law Journal
  23. Giglio v. Connecticut Light & Power Co., 429 A.2d 486, 489 (Conn. 1980).
  24. Jackson v. Baldwin-Lima-Hamilton Corp., 252 F. Supp. 529 (E.D. Pa. 1966). A maintenance manual that should ha…
  25. Ziglar v. E. I. Du Pont de Nemours & Co., 280 S.E.2d 510, 517–19 (N.C. App. 1981).
  26. Boyl v. California Chemical Co., 221 F. Supp. 669, 672, 674–76 (D. Ore. 1963). A manufacturer who sells a per…
  27. Brownlee v. Louisville Varnish Co., 641 F.2d 397, 401 note 6 (5th Cir. 1981). The directions on a paint can m…
  28. Bituminous Casualty Corp. v. Black & Decker Manufacturing Co., 518 S.W.2d 868, 873 (Tex. App.), reh'g denied …
  29. Michael v. Warner/Chilcott, 579 P.2d 183, 187 (N.M. App.), cert. denied (1978).
  30. McGuire E. P. (1988)
    Journal of Products Liability
  31. Fiorentino v. A. E. Staley Manufacturing Co., 416 N.E.2d 998, 1001–04 (Mass. App. 1981).
  32. Murray v. Wilson Oak Flooring Co., 475 F.2d 129, 132–33 (7th Cir.), reh'g (1973). The directive not to spread…
  33. Byrne v. SCM Corp., 528 N.E.2d 796, 802–03 (Ill. App.), reh'g denied (1989).
  34. Aetna Casualty and Surety Co. v. Jeppesen & Co., 642 F.2d 339, 342 (9th Cir. 1981).
  35. Gordon v. Niagara Machine & Tool Works, 574 F.2d 1182, 1186–88 (5th Cir.), reh'g and reh'g en banc denied (1978).
  36. Martinez v. Dixie Carriers, Inc., 529 F.2d 457, 465–67 (5th Cir. 1976).
  37. Midgley v. S. S. Kresge Co., 127 Cal. Rptr. 217, 219–21 (Cal. App. 1976).
  38. Hubbard-Hall Chemical Co. v. Silverman, 340 F.2d 402, 405 (1st Cir. 1965). The seller of an insecticide was h…
  39. Gracyalny v. Westinghouse Electric Corp., 723 F.2d 1311, 1318–20 (7th Cir. 1983).
  40. Kelley v. Rival Manufacturing Co., 704 F. Supp. 1039, 1043–45 (W.D. Okla. 1989).
  41. Colson v. Allied Products Corp., 640 F.2d 5, 7 (5th Cir. 1981). A maker has no duty to warn of rocks thrown f…
  42. Whitehead v. St. Joe Lead Co., 729 F.2d 238, 247 (3d Cir. 1984).
  43. Shell Oil Co. v. Gutierrez, 581 P.2d 271, 280–81 (Ariz. App.), reh'g denied (1978).
  44. Post v. American Cleaning Equipment Corp., 437 S.W.2d 516, 520 (Kent. App. 1969).
  45. Bloxom v. Bloxom, 512 So.2d 839, 843–50 (La. 1987).
  46. De Pree v. Nutone, Inc., 422 F.2d 534, 536–37 (6th Cir. 1970).
  47. Byrd v. Proctor & Gamble Manufacturing Co., 629 F. Supp. 602, 603–06 (E.D. Kent. 1986).
  48. Barber v. General Electric Co., 648 F.2d 1272, 1277–78 (10th Cir. 1981).
  49. Dougherty v. Hooker Chemical Corp., 540 F.2d 174, 180 (3d Cir. 1976).
  50. Brown v. Sears, Roebuck & Co., 667 P.2d 750, 757–59 (Ariz. App. Div. 1), reh'g and review denied (1983).
  51. First National Bank in Albuquerque v. Nor-Am Agricultural Products, Inc., 537 P.2d 682, 691–92 (N.M. App.), c…
  52. Goldberg N. A. (1986)
    Emerging Trends in Product Liability Legislation
  53. Salmon v. Parke, Davis and Co., 520 F.2d 1359, 1362–63 (4th Cir. 1975).
  54. Broussard v. Continental Oil Co., 433 So.2d 354, 358 (La. App. 3d Cir.), reh'g denied (1983).
  55. Cotton v. Buckeye Gas Products Co., 840 F.2d 935, 937–39 (D.C. Cir. 1988).
  56. Maize v. Atlantic Refining Co., 41 A.2d 850, 852 (Pa. 1945). A homemaker died from inhaling poisonous vapors …
  57. Schuh v. Fox River Tractor Co., 218 N.W.2d 279, 284 (Wisc. 1974).
  58. Rhodes v. Interstate Battery System of America, Inc., 722 F.2d 1517, 1519, 1521 (11th Cir.), reh'g and reh'g …
  59. Stapleton v. Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd., 608 F.2d 571, 572 (5th Cir. 1979), reh'g denied (1980), modifie…
  60. Gardner v. Q. H. S., Inc., 448 F.2d 238, 243 (4th Cir. 1971). A “cautionary note” on using hair curlers was p…
  61. O'Reilly J. T., Product Defects and Hazards: Litigation and Regulation Strategies, Wiley Law Publications, Ne…
  62. Pell v. Victor J. Andrew High School, 462 N.E.2d 858, 863 (111. App. 1st Dist. 1984).
  63. Harless v. Boyle-Midway Division, American Home Products, 594 F.2d 1051, 1056 (5th Cir.), reh'g denied (1979)…
  64. Ferebee v. Chevron Chemical Co., 736 F.2d 1529, 1542 (D.C. Cir.), cert. denied, 469 U.S. 1062 (1984). Complia…
  65. Brocklesby v. United States, 767 F.2d 1288, 1291, 1296–97 (9th Cir.), amended on reh'g denial and reh'g en ba…
  66. Schmeiser v. Trus Joist Corp., 540 P.2d 998, 1005–06 (Ore. 1975).
  67. Braniff Airways, Inc. v. Curtiss-Wright Corp., 411 F.2d 451, 453 (2d Cir. 1969).
  68. Saloomey v. Jeppesen & Co., 707 F.2d 671, 678, (2d Cir. 1983).
  69. Tinnerholm v. Parke Davis & Co., 285 F. Supp. 432, 452–53, 452 (S.D. N.Y. 1968). Drug manufacturer was held n…
  70. Brochu v. Ortho Pharmaceutical Corp., 642 F.2d 652, 656 (1st Cir. 1981). Strict liability law allows makers t…
  71. Jarrell v. Monsanto Co., 528 N.E.2d 1158, 1163, 1166 (Ind. App. 2d Dist), reh'g denied (1988).
  72. Seibel v. Symons Corp., 221 N.W.2d 50, 56–57 (N.D. 1974), reh'g denied (1974).
  73. LaBelle v. McCauley Industrial Corp., 649 F.2d 46, 49 (1st Cir.), reh'g denied (1981). Plaintiffs were compen…
  74. Pan-Alaska Fisheries, Inc. v. Marine Construction & Design Co., 565 F.2d 1129, 1137 (9th Cir. 1977), reh'g de…
  75. Andrulonis v. United States, 924 F.2d 1210, 1221 (2d Cir. 1991). A manufacturer “may incur liability for fail…
  76. Madden M. S., Products Liability, 1, § 10.12, West Publishing Co., St. Paul, Minnesota, p. 443, 1988.
  77. Zaharoff H. G. (1989)
    The Computer Lawyer
CrossRef global citation count: 9 View in citation network → Build reading path →