Country:

Poland

Court:

The Court of Appeal of Białystok, the judgement of 30 November 2000, OSA (Judgements of Appeal Courts), I ACa 340/00.

Topics:

Liability of the manufacturer of a chemical mousse for insufficient warnings of the danger of explosion caused by gas contained in the can of the mousse.

Articles:

N/a - before the implementation of the Directive.

Facts:

the claimant bought a number of cans of the chemical mousse for use in renovating his bathroom. The warnings on the can read that the product was flammable. The instructions for use included advice as to keeping the place in which the spray was being used aired and avoiding heating the cans. The claimant used the mousse according to the instructions, but when after using four cans his wife switched on the washing machine an explosion occurred. The washing machine was destroyed.

Legal questions:

1. How precise should the warnings regarding the dangers posed by the product be?

2. Should the producer be liable irrespective of the fact that before he introduced the product into circulation he received an authorisation from the State Department of Hygiene, and that he complied with the relevant safety provisions?

Decision:

Article 415 of the Civil Code (general tortuous liability based on fault) was the legal basis of the decision. The manufacturer was held liable for the fault in insufficient warning of the users of the mousse of the danger of explosion. It was held that the manufacturer of the mousse, as a professional aware of the dangers which his product may cause to a consumer, is obliged to very clearly warn the consumers of this danger. Failing to do so he cannot escape liability by claiming that he received an authorisation from the State Department of Hygiene and complied with the relevant safety law provisions.

Comments:

The Court also considered the possibility of the seller being liable here, but excluded this possibility as no fault of the seller could be established.

The judgement concerns a similar issue to the cases of the exploding airbag (1), chemical spray(2), and exploding TV set (3). The Polish courts very clearly stipulated that warnings on products inherently dangerous must precisely describe dangers posed by the products and the manner of averting the dangers.