PRODUCT LIABILITY IN SPORTS GOODS
Maryanka, Asst. Prof., School Of Law, IMS Unison University, Dehradun
& Harshit Sharma, Doctoral Candidate, National Law University, Jodhpur
ABSTRACT
When a person is injured by a defective product that is dangerous or unsafe, the injured person may have a claim or cause of action against the company or the person who designed, manufactured, sold, distributed, leased, or furnished the product. In other words, the company or the person may be liable to the injured person for his injuries and, as a result, may be required to pay for his damages.
This research paper will be dealing with law of product liability, especially as it relates to sports good. Sports involve the use of a large number of products; baseball bats, football helmets, hockey sticks, bicycles, parallel bars, special footwear, sports cars, ski bindings and javelins, to name a few. Hence the number of lawsuits for injuries caused by sports and recreation equipment is more and it has given genesis to an entirely new dimension in products liability law.
The nature of sports, however, is such that a great many of the products used serve the sole purpose of protecting the one using the products. Face masks, batting helmets, releasable ski bindings, knee pads and braces, football helmets, goggles, railings, floor pads, mouth pieces, roll bars and shoulder pads are a few examples of such protective products. A defect in a piece of protective sports equipment is more apt to make that product "unreasonably dangerous" because its sole purpose is to protect the user. It is clear that the very nature of "sports" is such that it will continue to be a breeding ground for product-caused injuries. Today a person injured by a defective product has a choice of distinct, yet related, theories of recovery upon which to base his action, e.g., strict liability, negligence, or breach of warranty. While deciding product liability cases nowadays in India, the courts have adopted a pro-consumer approach.
