Tort warning doctrine gets new blessing

Toxic Tort Talk

By Craig T. Liljestrand

Craig T. Liljestrand‚ a partner at Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP‚ has experience in toxic tort litigation. He practices in the areas of asbestos‚ silica‚ welding fumes‚ lead paint, chemical and occupational disease claims. His client base includes Fortune 500 companies in which he has defended various industrial product and equipment manufacturers‚ contractors and premises owners in numerous toxic tort cases throughout the country. He is also the regional counsel for a major industrial manufacturer.

Posted June 23, 2016 1:24 PM

Updated June 23, 2016 3:46 PM

The California Supreme Court recently formally adopted the sophisticated intermediary doctrine as described in the Restatement of Torts.Under this rule, a supplier may discharge its duty to warn end users about known or knowable risks in the use of its product if it (1) provides adequate warnings to the product’s immediate purchaser, or sells to a sophisticated purchaser that it knows is aware or should be aware of the specific danger, and (2) reasonably relies on the purchaser to convey appropriate warnings to …

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