Court: Manufacturers must explain risks
Manufacturers must warn consumers of the hazards of a product discovered after it is sold, even if it was bought from another party, according to a ruling from the Maine Supreme Judicial Court.
Yesterday's ruling is the latest in a case against Ohio forklift manufacturer Crown Equipment Corp. by Claire Brown, whose husband Thomas was killed using a forklift while working at Prime Tanning in Berwick in 2003, according to the Portland Press Herald. A federal court in 2006 awarded Brown $1.5 million, but Crown appealed the decision, saying Maine does not have a law that covers failure-to-warn claims. The Supreme Judicial Court concluded that the state's common law requires manufacturers to inform consumers post-sale of the risks equipment like forklifts pose, and that because Crown Equipment did not inform Brown or Prime Tanning of the risks, the company should be held responsible for his death, according to the paper.
The case now returns to appellate court. There was no word on how the ruling could affect Maine manufacturers. A call to the Manufacturers Association of Maine was not returned this morning before The Daily's deadline.
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