Product Liability Article
If you operate a distribution business you may think that legislation governing the placing of products on the market does not affect you. Surely, only the producers and manufacturers of products would be caught by such legislation? If you thought this then you would be wrong. The new General Product Safety Regulations 2005 create obligations on both producers and distributors of goods.
A distributor is defined as “a professional in the supply chain whose activity does not affect the safety properties of a product”.
Distributors have a duty to act with due care in order to help ensure compliance with the applicable safety requirements. In particular they will be obliged not to offer or agree to supply a product to any person which they know, or should have presumed, on the basis of the information they have, is a dangerous product.
Any contravention of this requirement can result in harsh penalties. Depending on the severity of any contravention a person may find themselves facing a fine not exceeding £20,000 or a prison sentence of not more than 12 months or possibly both. In practice, it is likely that fines or prison sentences will be much less than this, but it is an indication of how seriously this is viewed by enforcement authorities and the government.
In addition to this requirement where a distributor knows that a product he has helped to place on the market is not safe, he shall immediately notify an enforcement authority in writing. A distributor will also be obliged to inform the authority of the action taken to prevent risk to the consumer.
The greater the risk, the more detailed the report to the authority has to be. In the event of a serious risk the notification must include information enabling a precise identification of the product or batch of products in question, a full description of the risks that the product presents, all available information relevant for tracing the product and a description of the action taken to prevent risks to the consumer.
For more information about the way Product Safety and Health & Safety Legislation affects you, contact Philip Collins at Lemon & Co Solicitors on 01793 509 831 or by e-mail Philip.collins@lemon-co.co.uk.
Philip Collins
Solicitor
Lemon & Co Solicitors
This article gives a general view and cannot be relied upon in any particular case. The need for specific legal advice must always be considered. For further information, contact either Timothy Dixon on timothy.dixon@lemon-co.co.uk or Philip Collins on philip.collins@lemon-co.co.uk , or alternatively, please visit our website at www.lemon-co.co.uk for articles on other legal issues or contact us on 01793 527141.
If you would like to receive more information from Lemon&Co and be kept up to date with legal and statutory updates please register here.
Link to this article:
If you wish to link to this article, please paste the follwoing code into your web page:
<p><strong><a href="http://www.lemon-co.co.uk/article_product-liability.php">Product Liability Article</a></strong><br />
If you operate a distribution business you may think that legislation governing the placing of products on the market does not affect you. Surely, only the producers and manufacturers of products would be caught by such legislation? If you thought this then you would be wrong. The new General Product Safety Regulations 2005 create obligations on both producers and distributors of goods....</p>