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 have been important topics 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 the 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 ...