Under this test, a product is defective if it failed to perform as safely as an ordinary consumer would expect when used in a reasonably foreseeable manner. It derives from the Restatement Second of Torts.
It requires no proof of an alternative design and typically no engineering testimony about design tradeoffs.
Alternative Names:
Consumer Expectation Standard
Why it Matters?
This test is substantially more favorable to plaintiffs because it bypasses the alternative design requirement and lets a jury decide defect on ordinary experience. Its practical limit is complex products, where courts frequently hold consumers have no informed expectations about internal design, requiring risk-utility analysis instead. Which test applies is therefore worth litigating early, since it determines what the plaintiff must prove.
Frequently Confused with
Related terms
Frequently asked questions
When does the consumer expectations test not apply?
Does the test require expert testimony?
