Brandon Stroud was driving a golf car made by Textron, Inc. The golf car did not have lights, but Textron did not warn against using it on public roads at night. When Stroud attempted to cross a road at 8:30 p.m., his golf car was struck by a vehicle driven by Joseph Thornley. Stroud was killed. His estate filed a suit against Textron, alleging strict product liability and product liability based on negligence. The charge was that the golf car was defective and unreasonably dangerous. What defense might Textron assert?

When any customer buys a product and he happens to be injured or harmed by that product, the product owner can claim a suit against the product manufacturer in the court. A very minimal error in the design process or manufacturing process can lead to huge loss or damage to the company.

Strict product liability

According to the principle of strict product liability , it imposes liability for the injuries which occurs when fault is not an error.

If the following can be p[roved, the manufacturer can be held legally :

a. the good was defective

b. the defect was dangerous

c. the defect caused harm to the plaintiff

Defenses

One of the defenses is that when the plaintiff fails to meet the requirements for the negligence. An assumption of the risk defense is that when the plaintiff knew about the defect or danger of the product but still uses it. One more defense that the manufacturer can assert is that of the contributory negligence or the comparative fault is when the plaintiff is also at fault partially for the injury.