Lawsuit!: Reducing the Risk of Product Liability for Manufacturers

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Product Liability Around the World

Product liability laws in the United States, as well as around the world, are in a constant state of change. Various states within the United States continue to make changes with regard to their product liability laws, and the rest of the world is constantly doing the same. When writing about the product liability laws around the world, it becomes nothing more than a snapshot in time as some countries will already be changing their laws by the time this book is published. In general, most of the rest of the world is unfortunately following the lead of the United States. When speaking to management teams around the world, I recommend they use the United States as the worst-case scenario when developing their product safety and liability prevention programs and efforts. If their systems could hold up to scrutiny in the United States and be defendable, then they should withstand an attack anywhere.

The massive and record-breaking number of product recalls throughout most of the world in 2007 has also led to countless changes in product safety agencies and regulations in a number of countries, which then has a domino effect on the number of lawsuits initiated, followed by more stringent changes in the laws.

Take as an example the country of Thailand.¹ Prior to 2008 Thailand had no comprehensive law directly addressing product liability issues. As a result, claims for product liability in Thailand were usually made through use of the Consumer Protection ...