A hospital manufactured and used in its hospitals defective fluid for use in kidney operations. It denied liability under the defective product laws on the basis that it had not put the product into circulation, and that it had not been manufactured for an economic purpose, but rather for supply within the publicly funded health group.
Held: The exemptions under the directive were listed exhaustively, and therefore must be read restrictively. The fact that the patient did not pay directly for the service and that it was funded through taxation did not mean that it was not an economic or business activity, and nor was it charitable. Member states could not restrict the ranges of injury for which damages were recoverable.
Citations:
Times 04-Jun-2001, C-203/99, [2001] EUECJ C-203/99
Links:
Statutes:
Council Directive 85/374/EEC Approximation of laws for liability for defective products.
Jurisdiction:
European
European, Personal Injury, Consumer
Updated: 06 August 2022; Ref: scu.90138
