NEGLIGENCE-LIABILITY OF MANUFACTURER OR VENDOR TO AN ALLERGIC CONSUMER

Authors

Zolman Cavitch S.Ed., University of Michigan Law SchoolFollow

Abstract

The study of allergies is relatively new to the medical profession. It is not surprising, therefore, that only a few courts have dealt with the problem of the liability of the manufacturer or vendor to the consumer who is allergic to an ingredient in the defendant's product. Many dyes, cosmetics, drugs and health and beauty aids in universal use, however, contain known allergenic ingredients. Medical authorities estimate the incidence of well-defined allergies at between five to ten per cent of the total population and one authority suggests that allergies are actually increasing in frequency. When we add to this parade of horrors the fact that medical knowledge of allergies has increased tremendously in recent years, we may well expect many appellate courts to be called upon to define the scope of the manufacturer's or vendor's liability in this field. The purpose of this comment is to examine briefly the reported cases and to evaluate the various approaches to the problem.

Recommended Citation

Zolman Cavitch S.Ed., NEGLIGENCE-LIABILITY OF MANUFACTURER OR VENDOR TO AN ALLERGIC CONSUMER, 49 Mich. L. Rev. 253 (1950).
Available at: https://repository.law.umich.edu/mlr/vol49/iss2/7