ntentionally or unintentionally issuing an unsafe product that poses an unreasonable risk to the reasonable consumer opens the manufacturer to several forms of negligence law and torts including Negligence Per Se, Res Ipso Loquitur, Willful or Wanton Negligence, or Strict Liability under the known defects clause. Litigation can be pursued on civil and/or criminal fronts. In a negligence per se scenario, the seller would have violated a criminal statute, which the buyer would use as evidence of negligence. In a Res Ipso Loquitur scenario, the defendant may have been injured, but unable to determine exactly who was to blame. In this case, all potential defendants are guilty until proven innocent. In willful or wanton negligence, the firm may be subject to punitive damages as well as actual damages for ignoring evidence that a product is dangerous or declining to provide adequate warnings of a known defect or hazard. Finally, in a strict liability case, damage or an injury caused by a product with known defects deemed unreasonably defective under the law makes a firm liable even if there is no negligence or warranties provided. The penalties of these charges can be fiscally intimidating, but the public opinion fallout from a defective product case could cause even more serious revenue damage. Therefore the legal ramifications of not supplying a safe product are usually convincing enough.The ethical reasons for distributing a safe product are strong. The Utilitarian would analyze what product supplies the greatest net benefit. Manufacturing a safe product prevents injuries, which in turn prevents costly lawsuits. Safe products encourage consumer loyalty and foster trust in the brand name. Unsafe products can seriously injure buyers, leave the seller vulnerable to stiff legal penalties, cause public opinion of the firm to become distrustful, and alienate customers who might have been loyal. The duty to exercise due care addresses all levels...
