By their nature, some products simply cannot be made safer without losing their usefulness, so an “unavoidably unsafe product” is not necessarily a product that is by its nature dangerous. Rather, it is a product that is incapable of being made safe for its intended and ordinary use.

What makes a product unavoidably unsafe as opposed to downright dangerous?

Courts generally look at four criteria in making the determination:

1. the manner in which the product was prepared,
2. the manner in which it was marketed,
3. the utility of the product compared to the risk it poses, and
4. whether there are any safer alternatives to the product available.

For example, a knife that is too dull to cause injury would also be useless for its intended purpose. Similarly, a knife is unquestionably a dangerous product but the law wouldn’t consider it "unreasonably dangerous”.

On the other hand, a knife with a handle so fragile that it will snap under ordinary use could be an unreasonably dangerous product, and therefore, defective.

So, while a product might not be unreasonably dangerous, manufacturers and suppliers of unavoidably unsafe products must give proper warnings of the dangers and risks of their products so that consumers can make informed decisions regarding whether to use them. The danger of being cut by a knife is apparent, while the danger of such a knife breaking while being handled is not.

Medical products, including prescription drugs, make up the majority of products found to be unavoidably unsafe.

Spencer E. Farris and The S.E. Farris Law Firm have successfully represented victims in a wide variety of Product Liability cases including denture cream toxicity, defective food products, drugs and medical devices (breast implants, L-Tryptophan, Fen-Phen, Rezulin, Baycol, and others), car seats, appliances, industrial machinery, automobiles, asbestos, and vaccines.

Learn More:

Product Defects: Design, Manufacturing and Labeling

Negligence, Strict Liability and Breach of Warranty

Product Liability: Injury