Commercial Feasibility
Definition
Whether the cost of the safer design, spread across expected production volumes, would have made the product unaffordable or unmarketable.
- Field
- Product liability, design defect analysis
- Question addressed
- Whether a safer design would be unaffordable or unmarketable
- Basis
- Cost spread across expected production volume
- Role
- One factor in the risk-utility test
Common questions
How does commercial feasibility interact with the argument that a safer design existed?+
Showing an alternative design existed is not enough on its own; a defendant can argue that although technically feasible, the alternative was not commercially feasible because its added cost would have priced the product out of the market, which courts weigh alongside safety benefit.
Who typically testifies about commercial feasibility in a product liability case?+
Engineering experts address technical feasibility of the alternative design, while economists or industry experts often testify about production cost, expected consumer price sensitivity, and market impact to support or rebut a commercial feasibility argument.
Related terms
- Custom vs Mandatory Standard
- Voluntary industry standards represent custom in the industry; regulatory standards (mandatory by law) set the legal floor. A product can violate custom...
- Design Standard
- A document produced by a recognised body (ISO, ASTM, UL, EN, national authority) specifying minimum technical requirements for a product category. Meeting...
- Risk-Utility Calculus
- The balancing of expected harm (probability of injury multiplied by severity) against the burden of prevention (cost of the SAD plus any...
- Safer Alternative Design (SAD)
- A specific, concrete modification to a product that would have reduced the hazard in question while preserving the product's essential utility, and...
- Technical Feasibility
- The capacity to implement a design change with materials, processes, and knowledge available at the date the product was manufactured and sold.