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Court:

Federal Supreme Court 1.11.1923 (Anilin-case)

Articles:

ATF/BGE 49 I 465 (legal basis: art. 41 CO)

Facts:

In what is probably the first Swiss product liability case, the defendant produced a colour to be used to blacken leather shoes. The colour contained anilin. A carpenter used this colour to blacken the plaintiff´s shoes. The plaintiff walked trough wet grass wearing these shoes and developed severe eczema due to the anilin. She had to be hospitalized and needed two months of medical treatment in order to fully recover.

Decision:

The defendant was held liable under art. 41 CO because as a professional manufacturer of a commodity he had violated his duty to the public to make sure that the goods he offered respected the health requirements and also his duty to enclose instructions that, if followed by a purchaser, would avoid damage to health.

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