Due Care Theory

A consumer expects, as a matter of course, that a product purchased is as safe as possible. In recent years, the issue of product safety and the question of the locus of responsibility for unsafe products has been an important topic in business ethics. One approach to product liability is that of “due care.”

The “due care” approach is based on the assumption that in commercial transactions, the consumer and manufacturer do not meet as equals in the relationship. The manufacturer, and to a lesser degree the retailer, has greater knowledge and expertise. This leads to assigning the duty to deliver a product that lives up to the expressed and limited claims made about the product to these individuals. The manufacturer is held to the duty ...