9 March 2020
Liability for defective products: Defect
The premature rupture of a hip implant, which is not due to the excess weight of the victim or to an error in the choice or design of the prosthesis or during the hip replacement surgery, at a point at its base in the zone of weakness of any hip prosthesis, incurs the legal liability of the manufacturer insofar as the femoral stem of the implant did not provide the safety which was to be legitimately expected.
Court of Cassation, 1st civil chamber, 26 February 2020, LawLex20200000301JBJ
Liability for defective products: Relationship with other liability rules
The liability of a doctor is only automatically incurred by reason of a defect in a healthcare product implanted in a patient on the basis of Articles 1245-6 of the Civil Code and L. 1142-2- 1, paragraph 1, of the Public Health Code in the case where the manufacturer is not able to be identified and the health professional or institution did not designate their own supplier or manufacturer within the specified time-limit.
Court of Cassation, 1st civil chamber, 26 February 2020, LawLex20200000301JBJ