No thank you. LII Wex products liability. products liability Primary tabs Overview Products liability refers to the liability of any or all parties along the chain of manufacture of any product for damage caused by that product.

Prima Facie Case for the commercial seller of the defective product The defendant sells a product that the plaintiff uses The defendant is the commercial seller of such a product The plaintiff suffers an injury When the defendant sold the item, the item was defective The defect was an actual and proximate cause of the plaintiff's injury Types of Products Liability Claims Products liability claims can be based on negligence , strict liability , or breach of warranty of fitness.

Defects That Create Liability There are three types of product defects that incur liability in manufacturers and suppliers: Design Defects Design defects are inherent, as they exist before the product is manufactured.

While the item might serve its purpose well, it can be unreasonably dangerous to use due to a design flaw. In 47 states, the plaintiff has the burden of proof to prove the existence of a design defect. Manufacturing Defects Manufacturing defects occur during the construction or production of the item Only a few out of many products of the same type are flawed in this case Defects in marketing Defects in marketing deal with improper instructions and failures to warn consumers of latent dangers in the product Strict Liability Products Liability is generally considered a strict liability offense.

Overcoming Liability Even When the Product is Defective Even when a product is defective due to a design flaw, some courts will use one of two tests to find that the defendant has no liability. Consumer Expectation Test a reasonable consumer would find the product defective when using the product in a reasonable manner if a reasonable consumer would not find the product to be defective even when using it in a reasonable manner, then the defendant is not liable, even if the product's design flaw resulted in injury For more on these two tests, see this Law article.

Products Liability and Forums Products liability cases can involve defendants and plaintiffs from a large number of jurisdictions, due to the number of steps required in the creation of a product, and the resulting large number of people who use a given product.

Further Reading For more on products liability in general, see this Harvard Law Review note, this Harvard Law Review note, and this Notre Dame Law Review note.

menu of sources Federal Material U. Constitution and Federal Statutes Magnuson - Moss Warranty Act Consumer Product Warranties , 15 U. CRS Annotated Constitution Federal Judicial Decisions U. BIC Corp. In BIC , this Court, answering a Rule 23 certified question of law from the Sixth Circuit, examined the Tennessee Products Liability Act of to determine whether, in addition to the consumer expectation test, section 8 provided for a 'risk-utility' test.

We held that the statute provided for two tests: the consumer expectation test and the prudent manufacturer test which involves risk-utility balancing. The plaintiff in BIC asserted that a disposable cigarette lighter was unreasonably dangerous on the basis of the prudent manufacturer test.

In resolving this issue, the Court examined both tests under the definition of unreasonably dangerous, and concluded that '[o]ur statute does not limit the application of either test to only certain types of actions. Nonetheless, the consumer expectation test will be inapplicable, by definition, to certain products about which an ordinary consumer can have no expectation.

Defendant suggests that Tennessee's prudent manufacturer test is the appropriate test to be applied when the product at issue is complex beyond the knowledge of the ordinary consumer. As support for this argument, the defendant points to other language in BIC stating that the consumer expectation test is ill-suited for application to complex products: For example, ordinary consumers would have a basis for expectations about the safety of a can opener or coffee pot, but, perhaps, not about the safety of a fuel-injection engine or an air bag.

While the statute does not limit applicability of the tests, the prudent manufacturer test will often be the only appropriate means for establishing the unreasonable dangerousness of a complex product about which an ordinary consumer has no reasonable expectation. Absent contrary indication in the statute, we read Tennessee products liability law to permit application of the consumer expectation test in all products liability cases in which a party intends to establish that a product is unreasonably dangerous.

It does not follow that, because the consumer expectation test may be applied in all such product liability cases, the manufacturer will be subject to absolute liability.

Whether a plaintiff is successful on a products liability claim under the consumer expectation test will depend on whether the trier of fact agrees that the plaintiff's expectation of product performance constituted the reasonable expectation of the ordinary consumer having ordinary knowledge of the product's characteristics.

The language in BIC upon which the defendant relies merely explains that it may be difficult for a plaintiff to establish that the product is 'dangerous to an extent beyond that which would be contemplated by the ordinary consumer who purchases it, with the ordinary knowledge common to the community as to its characteristics,' if the community has no ordinary knowledge about the product's characteristics.

Our intent in BIC was not to limit the application of either test, but to hold that, in order to be successful under the consumer expectation test, the plaintiff must present evidence that the ordinary consumer has an expectation regarding the safety of the product.

The opinion in BIC clearly states that either the consumer expectation test or the prudent manufacturer test, or both, may be applied in all cases where the product is alleged to be unreasonably dangerous. Once this question of fact is established, however, '[t]he general rule in Tennessee is that the issue of whether a product is defective or unreasonably dangerous is one for the jury,' Curtis v.

Universal Match Corp. Under the consumer expectation test, 'a plaintiff is required to produce evidence of the objective conditions of the product as to which the jury is to employ its own sense of whether the product meets ordinary expectations as to its safety under the circumstances presented by the evidence.

Dow Chemical Co. Mitsubishi Motors Corp. Ohio June 16, In its decision, the Cunningham court held: [S]eat belts generally are familiar products for which consumers' expectations of safety have had an opportunity to develop, and the function which they were designed to perform is well known.

In recent years, consumers have been bombarded with information regarding the importance of wearing seat belts because of the protection which they provide. preclud[e] the use of the consumer expectation test in a situation involving a familiar consumer product which is technically complex or uses a new process to accomplish a familiar function.

Many familiar consumer products involve complex technology. In addition, manufacturers are constantly altering the methods in which products perform familiar functions.

This is a fantastic way to gauge demand for your product before manufacturing or buying inventory. This is similar to 2 above, except that you are actually taking payment for products before you are ready to ship them.

Your website will tell people that the product is not ready to ship yet, but give them an estimated date for when it will be ready. If you later decide that the product won't work, you can refund people's money.

Outside of simply gauging demand for your product, taking pre-orders provides some additional benefits:. If you've had a good or bad experience with testing demand for your products, I'd love to hear about it in the comments below!

I would also love to connect with you on Facebook or Twitter. I've put together a free 9-day course revealing all of my best strategies to increase traffic and boost conversions. Sign up to get the first lesson in your inbox instantly, plus occasional tips and articles to help you grow your business.

Close menu. Shopping Cart. Observe search trends related to your product Google Keyword Tool This is a super-easy way to get a preliminary idea of demand in under 5 minutes, and for free.

Google Trends Another cool tool you can use is Google Trends. Perform a test Google Adwords campaign In his article " How I test the market validity of a product ," Leevi Romanik tells a story of how he tested the demand for an ebook he was thinking about writing.

Analyze your competition This one is free and easy. Here are a few specific criteria to look at: Do your competitors have a strong social media following? Check out your competitors' Facebook and Twitter pages, among others.

If they have many followers, and especially if they are actively engaged by liking, commenting, sharing your competitor's posts , this is a good sign that a market for your product exists! Can you find many reviews of your competitors' products online?

Finding lots of reviews of a similar product to yours is a good sign, since people are obviously buying it. Even better, if you find reviews by customers who aren't happy with the service they received or the quality of the product, this could be a need that you can fill by providing better service and quality!

How long have your competitors been in business? If you don't know their age, go to WHOis. net and enter the URL of a competitor. Look at the Creation Date , and you will see how long the website has been around. If it's been around for awhile, this probably means that the company is making sales to stay in business.

I understand and agree that the Product and Test are not publicly known, are confidential and sensitive in nature and are considered Confidential Information. I No. There is no requirement that a manufacturer or importer of general use (non-children's) products use a CPSC-accepted third party laboratory to conduct its With regard to products liability, a defendant is liable when the plaintiff proves that the product is defective, regardless of the defendant's intent. It is

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Test the product without obligation - Missing I understand and agree that the Product and Test are not publicly known, are confidential and sensitive in nature and are considered Confidential Information. I No. There is no requirement that a manufacturer or importer of general use (non-children's) products use a CPSC-accepted third party laboratory to conduct its With regard to products liability, a defendant is liable when the plaintiff proves that the product is defective, regardless of the defendant's intent. It is

User acceptance testing is considered by some to be the most important test for an MVP. Since UAT analyzes how the platform interfaces with the user and assesses if all the features of the product are clear and easy to use.

UAT also searches for bugs and other errors that can impact the user experience while they navigate through the product. Considering the average user is more concerned with the functionality of the product than its underlying structure, UAT testing becomes even more important.

UAT helps to avoid the risk that functional bugs may impede users from reviewing the user interface. The functionality of an MVP is of the utmost importance.

Independent UAT tests ensure that most bugs are uncovered and provide the most value for developers. In the end, the goal of the MVP is to gather user feedback and make improvements to the product accordingly. Developers should ensure the product they deliver to users, although unfinished, is still stable and relatively bug-free.

That way, users can focus on the features and benefits and not be constrained by technical issues. These two equally important elements must both be true for the product to be successful.

Although the MVP is a minimum version of the final product, its quality does not need to suffer. If you are interested in learning more about testing an MVP, please do not hesitate to contact us. In addition, we invite you to download our white paper below, "How and Why to Test in the Digital Transformation Era.

Testing a Minimum Viable Product. Source: Numovisia One of the primary benefits of the MVP model is that it favors lean production. How to Test User acceptance testing is considered by some to be the most important test for an MVP.

Key Takeaways A Minimal Viable Product MVP gives businesses the opportunity to test a product idea and assess the validity or invalidity of their business plan. Conducting validation testing is an important part of the MVP process.

Take the time to nicely assemble and package your products for your IHUTs; it will pay off with higher response rates and better quality data.

Randomize the sequence of usage. It is important to note that if you are testing multiple products in your IHUT, make sure you randomize the sequence of usage.

As you are kitting and mailing packets, your instructions should clearly identify the sequence the respondent should use the product: B, C, A or B, A, C. This should be mixed up throughout the kits to ensure as little first-use and last-use market research bias as possible.

Step 7: Follow-up and reminders 📲. As is the case with any market research, particularly qualitative, reminders, and follow-up are necessary. Let's admit it, for those who haven't done it before testing products at home and getting paid sounds too good to be true.

It sounds like a scam. Respondents are skeptical. They ask or at least think: "What's the catch? No matter how you slice it, these feelings and attitudes are bad for market research. Especially bad for IHUTs when you spend all of this money to mail packages and then respondents receive it and quit because they're afraid they are getting scammed.

It is important to put yourself in their shoes and think of the big picture. It's to your advantage to have everything organized, answer questions before they are asked, and reach out personally to talk to respondents.

Having a real person to speak with on the phone who can put the respondent at ease is critical. At Drive Research we like to place calls at three different touch-points during the IHUT process:.

Step 8: Recall surveys 💭. Oftentimes, recall surveys are used as the final step for participants to complete their participation in an IHUT. The market research firm will email a recall survey to participant testers.

In some cases, this may be a more in-depth phone call. These recall surveys can range in length and number of questions. One of the approaches Drive Research recommends is an online survey follow-up.

This is the most cost-effective market research methodology and timely. The last question in the online survey can ask the participant if they would like to participate in a follow-up phone conversation if needed.

This gives the client the opportunity to follow up if needed for more clarification. Step 9: Reward fulfillment 💸.

Once all follow-ups, tasks, and surveys are completed, participants receive their reward. These are sent to all testers who completed their obligations. They'll likely have no patience for waiting 3 or 4 months for payment, which can create a social media firestorm for your organization.

Incentives vary depending on the level of commitment and time needed for the IHUT. Step Analysis and reporting 📊. Last, and perhaps the most interesting step to conducting in-home usage tests, analysis and reporting! While this should not be the first time you are looking at the data, it is the stage where a story is told and a picture is painted.

If working with a third-party IHUT research firm, make sure they are building in regular quality checks as participants submit their feedback. The research firm will regularly look at the data anyway to ensure the information and responses are impactful enough to create a strong report.

This also allows the project stakeholders to identify any issues and resolve them mid-stream. At this point, when fieldwork is completed, it will be too late to change the process. What is included in an in-home use test report? The report is the best part of the IHUT project or any market research project as far as we're concerned.

The market research report produced by Drive Research includes:. The executive summary and infographics serve as the recap, while the appendix serves all of the details of the readers want it. Many of our clients love the specifics. The report is the only true tangible deliverable in a service-based market research business.

It's the one deliverable that will stand the test of time and be revisited after the project is complete. It's the all-encompassing review of the project, and the results, including recommendations to drive strategy and action items.

What is the cost of an in-home usage test? As with most market research studies, it is difficult to provide one definitive cost for an in-home usage test.

Think of investing in market research like you would a car. The cost of a car is based on your preferred make, model, year, safety rating, and other factors. A similar concept is used when creating a market research proposal for an IHUT. To provide a more accurate cost of an in-home usage test, our market research firm will ask a few questions about your specific needs and preferences.

In this section, Drive Research shares a few elements that impact the cost of this type of project. Also, keep in mind our market research company tries our best to make even the tightest of budgets when conducting IHUTs. Learn why it is helpful to share your budget with a market research company.

Many times, our clients have quotas that participants must meet to qualify for an in-home usage test. For instance, a dish soap company would be interested in speaking with members of a household who are responsible for cleaning and are the primary decision maker for purchasing home cleaning products.

The cost of an in-home usage test will increase with more refined targeting criteria because the sample size becomes more limited and harder to reach. In other words, it takes more time to find and recruit green-eyed males, aged than it would be to recruit from a general population.

This is a simple component of any in-home usage test project. How many participants or households would you like to study? The cost of the market research will increase as you increase the number of participants.

This is because it takes more time to recruit, ship products, and analyze feedback from participants than it would What tasks are participants responsible for completing when they sign up for an in-home usage test?

The costs for qualitative recruitment can increase when more is asked of participants such as logging a diary every hour compared to once a day. The cost of an in-home usage test can increase if your timeline is more aggressive. On average, an IHUT project takes 4 to 12 weeks to complete. This includes creating a recruitment screener, finding qualified participants, shipping products, time for participants to use the product and offer their feedback, and reporting on participant feedback.

Example In-Home Usage Test. The best way to learn about in-home usage tests is to read a real-world example of this methodology in action.

The below case study will outline the objectives, process, and outcomes of an IHUT project our market research team conducted on behalf of an international brand of diapers. The brand was looking to gather more feedback on the U.

market to understand potential success and barriers to launching in the new market. At a very high level, here were the steps used to complete this project. An international brand of diapers hired our market research company to complete a product testing project.

The client wanted to test a diaper product to understand the appeal, price, and other general feedback around usage. The data obtained from the product tests guided the client in operations, marketing, and strategy for a U.

Participants received packs of 10 diapers to use over the course of a few days. The study was conducted with a variety of participants across the United States.

Drive Research recruited a mix of participants to ensure the testing group matches the demographics of the U. Our in-home usage test research company was responsible for:. Respondents were also required to sign a confidentiality agreement.

The process to recruit participants for the product tests was two-fold:. Drive Research programmed an online survey to pre-screen the audience through random invitations.

Those who qualified received a re-screening and confirmation call to ask additional questions. Participants were also sent a reminder text when the product was shipped. This ensured very high participation rates for product testing.

One week after receiving the packages, Drive Research invited participants to provide feedback based on their experience in testing the product. A total of 40 qualified households were invited to participate in the study. Ultimately, 34 of those households fully participated and provided feedback on the product.

As a final deliverable, our product testing company prepared an executive summary with recommendations on the next steps for the market launch. This also included a full appendix of charts and graphs from the 5 to 7-minute follow-up survey.

Here are some generalized objectives and questions addressed in the survey:. Final Thoughts. There are many tests a product must go through before being placed on shelves for consumer purchase.

While an in-home usage test is not enforced for product launches, it is highly recommended. Because many products don't receive the success they could have, IHUTs are especially important, no matter the product type.

Additionally, this form of research delivers key data around target audiences--who your consumers are. As we've discussed, marketing a great product to the wrong demographic is a quick recipe for failure. By investing in IHUTs, your brand will receive detailed information about your desired audience.

Doing this will ensure that your product is tested by people who would use it in the first place. And since IHUTs offer timely feedback through a variety of options, you know the data you're receiving is timely. This is especially important for product launches, as consumer opinion changes frequently.

Working with an IHUT research company can help streamline the process. A full-service market research company like Drive Research will manage recruitment, sending the product, fieldwork, and analyzing the results.

Get a Quote for IHUT Research. At-home product testing gives you the ability to check your prototype against real consumer usage before pushing into a full product launch. When used correctly, at-home product testing can save enormous amounts of money by allowing you to tweak your product prior to a full launch or make estimations on market potential.

Interested in partnering with Drive Research on your next IHUT project? We can assist any business regardless of location or industry. Contact Drive Research by filling out the form below or emailing [email protected].

As a Research Manager, Emily is approaching a decade of experience in the market research industry and loves to challenge the status quo. She is a certified VoC professional with a passion for storytelling.

Learn more about Emily, here. Categories: In-Home Usage Tests. Need help with your project? Get in touch with Drive Research.

Contact Us. View Our Blog. Call Contact. In-Home Usage Tests Uncover actionable tips and strategies to revolutionize your product testing process in this ultimate guide to IHUTs. Home Market Research Company Blog Conducting In-Home Usage Tests IHUTs [ Guide].

Article Contents What is an IHUT? Benefits of in-home usage tests In-home usage tests best practices What to consider before conducting IHUTs Steps to conducting IHUT research What is the cost of an in-home usage test? What is an example of an in-home usage test? Two common ways to collect IHUT participants' feedback include: Participants answer various, brief online surveys throughout the duration of the study Research analysts are on-site asking questions about their experiences with the participant's full permission Our market research company has seen this methodology used for a variety of industries and products - however, the locale for this research is primarily inside of participants' homes.

Benefits of In-Home Usage Tests The data collected from in-home usage tests are to market research for new product development in that it allows brands to see a concept's full potential and pinpoint the drawbacks.

Perfect for prototype testing 💯 For many consumers, the first impression of a new product is everything. An in-home usage test can answer questions such as: Does your product work as expected or advertised? Were the instructions easy to follow? Variety of options to measure in-home usage tester feedback 📏 As with most types of market research , brands have different options for collecting feedback, regardless of the study being conducted at home.

IHUT participants will use a product and provide feedback through the following options: Phone surveys Online surveys Video calls In-person Though, our IHUT research company finds that online surveys are the best methodology for gathering insights.

Understand the market before a full product launch 🚀 In-home usage tests provide valuable feedback relating to ALL aspects of your product or service before buying shelf space.

IHUTs help brands understand the full picture of the market and target buyers by measuring: First impressions Appeal and interest Satisfaction Product improvements Estimated price Purchase intent Competition Furthermore, in-home usage tests give a clear picture as to whether or not your intended audience will easily accept your product if launched.

The feedback allows you to pinpoint barriers and challenges to using the product. Track the performance of a product after launch 🏁 Some brands may choose to conduct multiple studies throughout a product's timeline.

The product stages where an IHUT is beneficial include: When testing a product or service concept When the prototype is created When a product has been on the market for a few months When a product is being relaunched The importance of ongoing research through pre and post-product development cannot be understated.

In-Home Usage Tests Best Practices Conducting IHUTs can provide valuable insights into how consumers interact with products in their environments. Below, we'll cover some best practices for conducting IHUTs: Set clear objectives Always head into any market research project with a clear plan for what you need to do.

Provide participants with detailed instructions Once the proper audience is identified, you need to include instructions for your IHUT. You should include: How to use the product Specific tasks for participants Timeline to complete tasks Pre-screen participants Remember when we talked about targeting the right audience?

A recruitment screener will typically cover basic topics like: Demographics age, gender, geography, HHI, etc. Customer or non-customer Current usage of products Likelihood to use products These questions identify who will be a good fit for the IHUT, and weed out those who don't fall within the desired demographic.

Use a mix of quantitative and qualitative methods It's normal to incorporate various types of market research methods when conducting IHUTs. Stick to a 3-month time frame Taking anywhere from one to three months, IHUTs depend on the product in question.

Determining factors include: Product type Client needs Overall project goals However, anything past three months is too long. Offer incentives Never overlook participation in market research.

Popular gift cards include: Amazon Target Walmart What's more, incentives will motivate the participants to put more effort into how they review your product. What to Consider Before Conducting IHUTs If you want to conduct an at-home usage test, there are a few factors to consider before getting started or contacting a market research company.

What are your objectives? Steps to Conducting IHUT Research When working with an IHUT market research company, your team can be as involved as you want during the duration of the project. Here is an outline of our process. Step 1: Request a proposal 💍 After we talk to our clients about their needs and objectives from the IHUT market research, our team puts together a full proposal.

Step 2: Kickoff and set-up 🏈 If you choose to move forward with a market research firm for your IHUTs, the next step is to hold a kickoff meeting. Step 3: Create a project workplan 🔨 An immediate deliverable from the kickoff meeting will be the project workplan.

Step 4: Recruitment 👨👩 After the workplan is created, the first step in an IHUT project is to focus on who your testing audience is? A recruitment screener is helpful when: Qualifying participants for the study Giving participants instructions for the IHUT Providing participants with a point of contact for questions or follow-up You'll also have to determine an appropriate stipend based on the amount of time and effort for the IHUT.

Step 5: Evaluation Form Design 🧾 This is the most crucial piece of the IHUT project. A few options exist here for methodologies. Paper form or diary Some IHUT market research companies will send a paper form or diary to fill out.

Static survey Another option is to include a static survey or form link online for respondents to visit on their computer, tablet, or mobile device. You cannot get more in the moment than that.

Email survey after the test period A final common option IHUT firms use is emailing surveys to respondents after the test period is completed.

Step 6: Kit development and mailings 📮 Once you have a list of participants, either the IHUT research company can mail the products to participants or the sponsoring company can mail these out directly. The kit development and mailing stage involves: Packaging the products for testing Including an introductory letter and contact information Providing a FAQs sheet and instructions As the market research firm, the goal is to have this kit to be as organized as possible so it passes the credibility test when received.

Randomize the sequence of usage It is important to note that if you are testing multiple products in your IHUT, make sure you randomize the sequence of usage. Step 7: Follow-up and reminders 📲 As is the case with any market research, particularly qualitative, reminders, and follow-up are necessary.

At Drive Research we like to place calls at three different touch-points during the IHUT process: Introduction Call: Arguably, the most important call is this one. This comes after the respondent likely qualifies through an online recruitment questionnaire. During the online experience, they had no contact with a live person so they are probably left wondering, is this for real?

Having a customer service person follow up and confirm interest, answer any questions, and explain the next steps will undoubtedly improve participation rates.

Mid-IHUT Call: This is a check-in call. Half of the reason for doing this is to make sure the respondent doesn't have any questions and everything is going smoothly. The other half is to make sure respondents are participating.

If not, you'll need to backfill with some additional respondents and additional kit mailings. This is not outside of the norm. Follow-up Call: This is the final call to check in on respondents. Ideally, they have already submitted their final survey or feedback and this essentially becomes a thank-you call.

In some instances, you'll use this call to remind participants to wrap up the project and have their form mailed or submitted by a specific date and time to receive their honorarium. Step 8: Recall surveys 💭 Oftentimes, recall surveys are used as the final step for participants to complete their participation in an IHUT.

The recall surveys may ask about: Likes Dislikes Suggested improvements Satisfaction with the product Likelihood to purchase Other helpful information One of the approaches Drive Research recommends is an online survey follow-up.

Step 9: Reward fulfillment 💸 Once all follow-ups, tasks, and surveys are completed, participants receive their reward. Step Analysis and reporting 📊 Last, and perhaps the most interesting step to conducting in-home usage tests, analysis and reporting!

The market research report produced by Drive Research includes: An executive summary of themes Infographics Recommendations Appendix with additional detail on IHUT cases and data The executive summary and infographics serve as the recap, while the appendix serves all of the details of the readers want it.

Participant criteria Many times, our clients have quotas that participants must meet to qualify for an in-home usage test.

Test the product without obligation - Missing I understand and agree that the Product and Test are not publicly known, are confidential and sensitive in nature and are considered Confidential Information. I No. There is no requirement that a manufacturer or importer of general use (non-children's) products use a CPSC-accepted third party laboratory to conduct its With regard to products liability, a defendant is liable when the plaintiff proves that the product is defective, regardless of the defendant's intent. It is

Schlink , began to imagine a system for applying similar expectations for standards to consumer needs in order to allow people to make purchases according to product merit rather than rival advertising claims or marketing propaganda.

The most common government role in product testing is creating laws for the creation of products with the intent of ensuring that manufacturers accurately describe the products they are selling and that products are safe for consumers to use.

Lawmakers typically introduce government regulation when the industry's voluntary system will not or can not solve a serious problem. The most common industry role is to provide products and services according to industry standards. In any industry, some standards will be voluntary which means that the industry practices self-regulation , or mandatory which means that a government issues a regulation.

Every major consumer product industry has an associated trade organization whose duties include developing voluntary standards and promoting the industry.

An example of industry regulation could be Underwriters Laboratories ' founding in the United States in and its creation of standards with reference to the National Electrical Code published in are early examples of standards being made with reference to government regulation.

It is difficult or impossible to find an industry which has been able to review its members' products and supply unbiased comparative product information on them. The role of the consumer organization is to represent the interest of individual consumers to industry and government.

Whereas neither government nor industry regulates product and service quality, from the consumer perspective, product quality is a chief concern. The history of consumer organizations internationally is closely tied to the history of the consumer movement in the United States , which set the precedent and model for product testing elsewhere.

Having access to comprehensive, objective product testing results is the primary tool which consumers can use to make an informed decision among product choices.

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View all software. Contact us. Home Services Physical Testing Services for Consumer Products. house , and writings i. navigational charts. Products liability is derived mainly from t orts law. Products liability claims can be based on negligence , strict liability , or breach of warranty of fitness.

This will typically depend on the jurisdiction within which the claim is based, due to the fact that there is no federal products liability law. This lack of uniformity has resulted in the United States Department of Commerce publishing the Model Uniform Products Liability Act MUPLA , which has tried to encourage uniform procedures for the products liability tort.

Products Liability is generally considered a strict liability offense. With regard to products liability, a defendant is liable when the plaintiff proves that the product is defective, regardless of the defendant's intent.

It is irrelevant whether the manufacturer or supplier exercised great care; if there is a defect in the product that causes harm, he or she will be liable for it. Even when a product is defective due to a design flaw, some courts will use one of two tests to find that the defendant has no liability.

For more on these two tests, see this Law article. Products liability cases can involve defendants and plaintiffs from a large number of jurisdictions, due to the number of steps required in the creation of a product, and the resulting large number of people who use a given product.

Due to the large number of people who may be involved in products liability cases, plaintiffs often forum shop to find judges sympathetic to products liability claims. In Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. Superior Court of California , the Supreme Court limited the forum-shopping ability of plaintiffs in products liability cases.