Component Manufacturer Can Be Strictly Liable for Design, Manufacturing Defects, Wis. Federal Judge Rules

MILWAUKEE, Wis. — The manufacturer of a femoral neck component can be held strictly liable for design and manufacturing defects in a hip replacement system because the component was not modified after it left its control, a Wisconsin federal judge has ruled.

On June 9, Magistrate Judge William E. Duffin of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin further held the contract specification defense does not shield the manufacturer from liability because that defense undermines the effort to shift costs associated with unsafe products to those who are in the best position to disperse those costs.

However, …