Product Liability Legal Advice for Businesses: The Consumer Protection Act 1987
- William Slivinsky
- May 30
- 7 min read
Updated: May 31
Product Liability Legal Advice for Businesses is not only about dealing with claims after something has gone wrong. For businesses that produce, import, brand, supply or sell goods, especially electrical equipment, machinery, tools, components, appliances or technical products, it should form part of the legal risk structure before the product reaches the customer.
The Consumer Protection Act 1987 is one of the key legal frameworks that product-based businesses need to understand.
This is not only a consumer complaint issue. It is not simply about refunding a customer or replacing a faulty item.
This is a product liability issue. In practical terms, the risk can move beyond a normal contract dispute and become a serious claim for injury, death or property damage caused by an allegedly defective product.
For a business, that changes the whole picture.
If you produce goods, import goods, put your own brand on goods, supply electrical equipment, sell components, or place products into the market, this is an area you should take seriously. If that sounds like your business, I would strongly suggest reading this series carefully — and if you are unsure where your risk sits, consider taking personal advice before a complaint becomes a claim.
Product liability is not limited to household goods
The Consumer Protection Act 1987 is not only about faulty kettles, electrical items, tools or household products. In Wilkes v DePuy International Ltd, the court considered a claim involving a hip replacement component. That shows how widely product liability law can reach.
The claim failed, but the case is still important for businesses. The court looked at matters such as warnings, instructions, regulatory compliance, known risks and the safety people were entitled to expect. The lesson is not only that good drafting can help win a case. It is also that poor warnings, unclear sales wording or weak product documents can create avoidable disputes, legal costs and delay — even where the business may ultimately have a defence.
Why Product Liability Legal Advice for Businesses matters before a product is sold
The key question under the Act is not only whether the product worked.
The key question is whether the product was as safe as people were generally entitled to expect.
That is where many businesses get caught.
A product may be physically well made, but the business may still create risk through poor descriptions, unclear instructions, weak warnings, overconfident adverts, unsuitable customer communications, missing technical documents or failure to follow product-specific requirements.
That is why careful drafting is not just a branding exercise. It is part of legal risk control.
For businesses that produce, import, brand or supply goods, I can help review and draft the documents that sit around the product, including website descriptions, product information sheets, warning wording, user instructions, customer emails, terms and conditions and complaint responses.
The aim is not to make the documents complicated. The aim is to make them clear, accurate and protective, so the business is not accidentally promising more than it intends, hiding important limitations, or creating avoidable product liability risk.
Product liability is not only about the product itself
One of the most important points for business owners is that product liability risk does not begin only when the product physically fails.
Risk can begin much earlier.
It can begin with the advert.
It can begin with the website description.
It can begin with the sales email.
It can begin with the instruction manual.
It can begin with the warning label.
It can begin with the technical specification.
It can begin with the way the product is described to a potential customer.
That is why drafting matters.
A business may believe it is selling a product for a narrow, specific use. But if the marketing, packaging or communication suggests a wider use, the customer may later argue that they were entitled to expect a higher level of safety in that wider context.
This is where poor wording creates legal risk.
The product may be suitable for one use, but the advert may suggest another. The product may require careful installation, but the instructions may not say that clearly. The product may need limitations or warnings, but the customer-facing material may be silent.
For a business, that is dangerous.
Insurance is important, but it is not automatic protection
Many businesses assume that product liability insurance will solve the problem if something goes wrong.
Insurance is important, but it should not be treated as automatic protection.
If the product does not match the description given to the insurer, if the business failed to follow policy conditions, if warnings were inadequate, if product-specific requirements were ignored, or if compliance documents are missing, cover may be disputed.
That means the business can face two problems at the same time.
First, the customer or injured person may bring a claim.
Second, the insurer may question whether the policy responds.
This is why I treat product liability as a legal structure issue, not only a claims issue.
A business should know what it sells, how it describes it, what risks attach to it, what documents support it, what standards apply, and what the insurance actually covers.
The better question is not only: Do we have insurance?
The better question is: Would our documents, product records, warnings, specifications and communications actually support us if a claim was made?
Compliance can become part of the defence
A key point under the Consumer Protection Act 1987 is that compliance is not just administration.
In some cases, a defence may arise where the alleged defect was caused by compliance with a legal requirement or mandatory obligation. That makes product-specific requirements, technical standards, testing records, supplier documents and safety files very important.
A business should be able to show what rules applied to the product and how the product was designed, labelled, tested or supplied in accordance with those rules.
This is especially important for electrical and technical goods.
If a claim is made, the business may need to show not only that the product was safe, but also that it followed the correct legal, technical and product-specific requirements at the time of supply.
Good compliance records can therefore support three things:
risk prevention;
defence of a product liability claim;
protection of the insurance position.
Why this series matters
I am creating this series because many small businesses only think about product liability after something has gone wrong.
That is too late.
A better approach is to review the legal position before the product is sold, imported, advertised or supplied at scale.
The right legal advice can help a business identify risk early, improve its documents, correct unsafe wording, check insurance assumptions, and respond properly if a complaint is made.
This series will explain the key parts of the Consumer Protection Act 1987 from a business protection perspective.
It is written for business owners, not academics.
The aim is practical: to help businesses understand where liability can arise, how documents can reduce risk, and why product safety, drafting and insurance should be reviewed together.
Index of the Series
Part 1: Why Every Product-Based Business Should Understand This Act
This article introduces the Consumer Protection Act 1987 as a core legal risk for businesses that produce, import, brand, supply or sell goods.
It explains why product liability is not just about a broken product, but about safety expectations, marketing, warnings, instructions, compliance and insurance.
Part 2: Who Can Be Liable?
This article will explain who may be responsible under the Act, including producers, own-brand sellers, importers and suppliers.
It will also explain why a supplier may become exposed if they cannot identify the producer or their own supplier when properly asked.
Part 3: What Counts as a Product?
This article will explain what the Act treats as a product, including goods, electricity, components, raw materials and products incorporated into other products.
This is important for businesses dealing with electrical equipment, machinery, assembled goods, replacement parts and imported components.
Part 4: What Makes a Product Defective?
This article will explain the legal meaning of defect.
The focus will be on whether the safety of the product is such as people are generally entitled to expect. It will also explain why safety is judged in context, not in isolation.
Part 5: Why Adverts, Product Descriptions and Warnings Matter
This article will focus on drafting.
It will explain why adverts, website wording, labels, product descriptions, instructions, warnings and customer communications can influence what level of safety people are entitled to expect.
This article will connect directly with business legal advice, legal drafting and document review.
Part 6: The Compliance Defence
This article will explain the defence where an alleged defect is attributable to compliance with a legal requirement or mandatory obligation.
It will show why product-specific standards, technical specifications, testing records and compliance evidence matter.
Part 7: Other Statutory Defences
This article will explain the other defences available under the Act, including where the business did not supply the product, the supply was not in the course of business, the defect did not exist at the relevant time, the defect could not reasonably have been discovered, or the defect was caused by the design or instructions of a later product.
Part 8: What Damage Is Covered?
This article will explain what type of damage can create liability under the Act.
It will look at death, personal injury and property damage, and explain the limits on claims for damage to the defective product itself and certain property losses.
Part 9: Product Liability Insurance Is Not Automatic Protection
This article will explain why insurance is important but not enough on its own.
It will look at policy wording, exclusions, product descriptions, disclosure, compliance obligations, warnings and claim notification.
Part 10: Practical Checklist Before Selling or Supplying a Product
This article will bring the series together with a practical checklist for businesses.
It will cover product specifications, supplier records, testing, warnings, instructions, website wording, sales communications, insurance checks and complaint response procedures.
How I Can Help
I help businesses reduce product liability risk through practical legal advice, consultation, drafting and document review.
This can include:
reviewing product descriptions and website wording;
drafting or improving warnings and instructions;
checking sales emails and customer-facing communications;
reviewing product liability risk before launch;
helping respond to product complaints;
checking whether business documents support the insurance position;
identifying where terms and conditions need to be strengthened;
preparing a structured product liability response before a dispute escalates.
The aim is simple: identify risk early, fix weak documents, protect the business, and respond properly if a product complaint becomes serious.
The information on this blog is general guidance only and should not be relied on as legal advice. Legal outcomes depend on the facts of each case. For tailored advice, please book a consultation.
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