Human factors issues to be considered by product liability experts.

This chapter discusses some product liability issues that human factors experts should consider when investigating accidents that occur when someone is injured while using a consumer product. The objective is to demonstrate how a human factors consultant would evaluate a product liability case. This discussion will include an analysis of product design, effectiveness of warnings and instructions, and the human conduct contribution to these incidents. In order to demonstrate the evaluation of product liability cases, three case studies are discussed. One case describes design issues pertaining to the interaction between a motorcycle fuel valve and fuel gauge. A second case involves the use of barriers on a hot/cold compress. A final example illustrates how warnings come into play by discussing a case involving latex glove hypersensitivity. Although only these cases are discussed, the analytical approach presented in this chapter can be applied by human factors experts to other products cases.