Question: In the State of Indiana, when does a manufacturer have a duty to warn of the potential dangers associated with its product?
Answer: Indiana’s Product Liability Act governs all actions that are brought against a manufacturer or seller for physical harm caused by a product. A product may be defective within the meaning of the Act because of a manufacturing flaw, a defective design, or a failure to warn of dangers in the product’s use. The duty to warn consists of two duties: (1) to provide adequate instructions for safe use, and (2) to provide a warning as to dangers inherent in improper use. The determination of whether a duty to warn exists is generally a question of law for the court to decide rather than one of fact. However, the adequacy of the warning is a question of fact for the jury. A manufacturer has a duty to warn with respect to latent dangerous characteristics of the product, even though there is no “defect” in the product itself. A failure to warn of a latent danger will, without more, cause the product to be unreasonably dangerous as marketed. Warnings are typically expected on products that are intentionally marketed despite dangerous properties. The Act imposes liability upon a manufacturer who puts into the stream of commerce any product without a reasonably adequate warning thereby leaving it in an unreasonably dangerous condition to any user, if such warning could be given in the exercise of reasonable diligence.
