Wilhelm acted negligently by failing to warn Flores of the dangers of working with bees. Negligence for failure to warn requires the existence of a duty of care, a breach of that duty and damages suffered as a direct result of the breach. Where no duty exists the defendant cannot be held liable. Bees are considered domesticated and for liability to attach for injuries caused by domestic animals, the appellant must show that the animals were accustomed to do mischief or the defendant caused the acts of negligence which resulted in the harm. Imposing a duty of care requires an analysis into the extent of the burden of protecting against the harm and the consequences of placing this duty on the defendant. This analysis requires the …show more content…
Liability for design defects arises when there is a foreseeable risk of harm by a product when it is used for its intended purpose. A manufacturer is liable for design defects if they were aware that the product would have been made safer. A design defect occurs when a product is useless or inherently dangerous and does not satisfy the expectations of an ordinary consumer. This occurs when the product is not manufactured properly and departs from its intended design.
Liability in these cases focuses on the manufacturer’s decision in the manufacture of the product. It occurs when there is an error or a flaw in the design of the product which renders the product dangerous. Liability for defects in design attach when the option of an alternative product was feasible. In this case, Senco modified an existing gun to shoot longer nails without testing if shooting longer nails with the gun would increase the chances of double fire. There was a foreseeable risk of a double fire from using the nail gun. In addition, Senco was aware that the nail gun would have been made safer by conducting further tests or producing an alternative which would reduce the chances of a double fire. For these reasons Senco is liable to Lakin for strict liability based on a design defect of the nail