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HEALTH AND SAFETY LAW
Case Scenario
Primrose is a staff nurse on a surgical ward. On one shift she was injecting Dora, a patient, with a pain killer when the needle broke, and the top part became embedded in Dora's arm.
This article looks at the provisions of the Consumer Protection Act 1987 in relation to health care and the importance of retaining information about equipment and other products supplied to patients. The rights of the consumer to claim compensation when injured by defects in products were strengthened in 1987 by the Consumer Protection Act which was enacted as a result of the European Community Directive no. 85/37/374/EEC. Part 1 of the Consumer Protection Act 1987 makes provision for product liability and covers the sections shown in Table 1.
The Consumer Protection Act 1987 enables a claim to be brought where harm has occurred as a result of a defect in a product. It is a form of strict liability in that negligence by the supplier or manufacturer does not have to be established. The claimant will, however, have to show that there was a defect. A product is defined as meaning any goods or electricity and includes a product which is comprised in another product, whether by virtue of being a component part or raw material or otherwise.
WHO IS LIABLE UNDER THE CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT 1987?
Section 2(1) of the Consumer Protection Act 1987 states that `where any damage is caused wholly or partly by a defect in a product, every person to whom section (2) below applies shall be liable for the damage'. Section 2(2) sets out who is liable under the Consumer Protection Act 1987 and is shown in Table 2.
Usually it will be the producer of the defective goods who will be held liable under the Act, but it will be noted from Table 3 that where the producer cannot be traced or is unknown then the supplier of the defective goods could be held liable. This has major implications for health care.
RECORDS OF THE SUPPLIER
The fact that the supplier could be held liable under the Act makes it essential for the NHS trust to keep records of the supplier of any goods (including...