Country:

Italy

Court:

Tribunal of Rome, 22-11-2001, in Giur. Romana, 2002, p. 137.

Topics:

Contributory negligence; defect definition: presentation of product.

Articles:

art. 8, al. 2; art. 6 al. 1 sub a.

Facts:

A housekeeper, who was injured by a needle hidden in the earth for her flowering plant, sues the manufacturer claiming compensation for her psychological stress (she did all the tests in order to check whether she had caught some infection or not). The manufacturer argues that the alleged damage was caused by the fault of the injured person who didn't ware gloves using the earth, as it was recommended by the instructions written on the wrapping.

Legal questions:

Is the manufacturer liable if the user neglect to take the precaution measures recommended on the wrapping of the product in order to avoid the risk of damage?

Decisions:

The manufacturer isn't liable because he warned the user about the risk of the damage.

Comments:

Probably the decision of the Court is also due to the fact that the housekeeper did not suffer a serious physical injury: she was only claiming damages for her psychological stress. However this decision emphasises the fact that a proper instruction or a proper information about the product can neutralise the danger connected to certain use of it.