“Is a product unreasonably dangerous because its utility is outweighed by the cost it imposes on society?”

In this article co-authored by Ryan M. Frierott, a partner in Goldberg Segalla’s Product Liability Practice Group, the authors examine the practical implications and takeaways for manufacturers and their counsel from Stollings v. Ryobi Technologies, Inc. This recent decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit permitted expert testimony about the social utility of a product to assist the jury in evaluating whether the product was unreasonably dangerous in design.

Read the article here:

• “Design Defect and the Social Utility of a Product,” Illinois Association of Defense Trial Counsel IDC Quarterly, Vol. 24, No. 2, 2014