Consumer Protection Act 1987 - Product Liability

Product Liability

Section 2 imposes civil liability in tort for damage caused wholly or partly by a defect in a product. Liability falls on:

• Producers;
• Persons holding themselves out as producers, for example by selling private label products under their own brand ("own-branders"); and
• Importers into the European Union (EU) for commercial sale.

Liability is strict, and there is no need to demonstrate fault or negligence on behalf of the producer. Liability cannot be "written out" by an exclusion clause (s.7)

Damage includes (s.5):

• Death;
• Personal injury;
• Damage to property, including land, provided that:
  • The property is of a type usually intended for private use;
  • It is intended for private use by a person making a claim; and
  • The value of the damage is more than £275;

— but damage to the product itself is excluded, as are other forms of pure economic loss.