On The Classification Of Product Liability In The United States

American product liability has developed from negligence liability to warranty liability, and to strict liability in tort provided in “Restatement of the Law Second Torts”, finally to the different liability principle according to different defect type provided in “Restatement of the Law Third Torts: Products Liability”. That is using strict liability in manufacturing defect and negligence liability in design defect and warning defect. There is not another law or legislation had so great change in short period of time. It is so great that “Restatement of the Law Third Torts: Products Liability” have classified product defects into manufacturing defect, design defect and warning defect, which is really suitable for the development of social and economic. What’s more, to the different defect, we also need to use different testing method. For the manufacturing defect, it should be used consumer expectations test. And for the design defect and warning defect, it should be used “risk-utility analysis” test.The paper analyzed systematically through every testing method and liability principle in three different defects, for the improvement of product liability defect institution of our country. Also, the method of legal hermeneutics and legal economics was integrated to qualitatively study the concept and testing method and to quantitatively study the liability principle using the analytical method of marginal, equilibrium and efficiency in the manufacturing defect, design defect and warning defect. It could distinguish the advantage and disadvantage of testing method and liability principle in three different defect types.