Abstract
This Note examines products liability cases in which an injury results in part from the "overuse" of a product. "Overuse" can be defined as the use of a product beyond its safe capacity. It is normally a use of the product in the intended manner, not use in a manner for which the product was not designed or manufactured. It is, therefore, a use of the product for its normal purpose, but a use that is too fast, too strenuous, or too much for the product's structural capacity.The first section of this Note discusses overuse in the context of warnings and design defectiveness. The second section examines overuse in cases dealing with questions of causation. The final section discusses overuse as related to affirmative defenses based on the misconduct of the user. This Note does not examine in depth the various theories of products liability, but the discussion, wherever possible, applies generally to the products liability theories.
Recommended Citation
David E. Gardels,
Overuse in Products Liability,
57 Neb. L. Rev. 817
(1978)
Available at: https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/nlr/vol57/iss3/9