Legal Definitions - industry-wide liability

Industry-wide liability is a legal principle that allows a plaintiff (the injured party) to seek damages from multiple manufacturers within an entire industry, even if they cannot identify which specific company produced the harmful product that caused their injury.

This doctrine typically applies when:

• Many companies produced an identical or very similar product.
• The product caused harm.
• It is impossible for the injured party to determine which specific manufacturer's product caused their particular injury, often due to the passage of time, the generic nature of the product, or the circumstances of exposure.

Instead of dismissing the case because the plaintiff cannot pinpoint a single defendant, courts may hold all manufacturers in that industry responsible. Liability is often apportioned among the companies based on their respective market shares for that product during the relevant period.

Here are some examples illustrating industry-wide liability:

• Example 1: Harmful Pharmaceutical Drug

  Imagine a situation where a person develops a rare medical condition in adulthood, which is later linked to a specific generic prescription drug their mother took during pregnancy. During that time, many different pharmaceutical companies manufactured and sold this exact same generic drug. Decades later, it is impossible for the individual to prove which specific company's pill their mother consumed.

  How it illustrates the term: Because the drug was generic and many companies produced it, and given the significant time elapsed, identifying the single responsible manufacturer is impossible. Under industry-wide liability, the injured individual might be able to sue all the pharmaceutical companies that manufactured that drug during the relevant period. Each company could then be held liable for a portion of the damages, often based on its market share of the drug at the time, ensuring the injured party has a means of recovery.

• Example 2: Contaminated Industrial Component

  Consider a scenario where a factory worker develops a chronic respiratory illness attributed to prolonged exposure to a specific toxic chemical found in a particular type of industrial adhesive. Over several decades, numerous manufacturers produced this identical adhesive, and the worker used products from various suppliers throughout their career without keeping detailed records of which brand was used when.

  How it illustrates the term: The worker can prove the illness was caused by the chemical in the adhesive. However, due to the long latency period of the illness and the interchangeable nature of the adhesive from different manufacturers, it's impossible to determine which specific manufacturer's product caused the critical exposure. Industry-wide liability could allow the worker to seek damages from all manufacturers of that type of adhesive, with liability potentially apportioned based on their market shares, rather than being denied compensation due to an inability to identify a single defendant.

• Example 3: Environmental Contamination from a Common Pollutant

  A community discovers its local water supply is contaminated with a specific heavy metal, causing widespread health issues. Several industrial plants in the region, all operating for many years, used and disposed of processes that released this identical heavy metal into the environment. While the overall contamination is clear, tracing the exact proportion of the heavy metal from each individual factory to the specific groundwater contamination is impossible due to complex underground water flows, historical disposal practices, and the fungible nature of the pollutant.

  How it illustrates the term: The community can demonstrate that the collective actions of these factories led to the contamination and subsequent harm. Since it's impractical or impossible to definitively assign precise blame to one factory over another for the specific damage, industry-wide liability might be invoked. Each factory could be held responsible for a portion of the cleanup costs and damages, reflecting their overall contribution to the industry's presence and the type of waste produced, even if individual causation cannot be precisely proven.