Washington's Useful Safe Life: Snipping Off the Long Tail of Product Liability?

Authors

Bruce L. Schroeder

Abstract

This Comment reviews the general law applicable to product liability claims. Next it analyzes the changes made by section. The Comment argues that it is doubtful whether section 7 will be able to achieve the legislature's desired goal of added certainty in product liability actions. The limited number of older claims, the limited spread of the law, and the use of a preponderance of the evidence test to overcome the twelve-year presumption stand as obstacles to achieving this end. Furthermore, this Comment argues that even if section 7 is successful in achieving its goal, the goal itself may be undesirable. The new provision is unfair to product liability claimants and counterproductive to the social goal of encouraging safe products.

First Page

503

Recommended Citation

Bruce L. Schroeder, Comment, Washington's Useful Safe Life: Snipping Off the Long Tail of Product Liability?, 57 Wash. L. Rev. 503 (1982).
Available at: https://digitalcommons.law.uw.edu/wlr/vol57/iss3/6