See the article at: https://www.mondaq.com/australia/consumer-law/1101994/australian-consumer-law-update-mid-year-update?email_access=on
No changes to product liability or safety have been included.
Category: Product Liability
Tesla car on autopilot mode crashes in Beijing (ABC News Australia)
Tesla said it had reviewed data to confirm the car was in autopilot mode, a system that takes control of steering and braking in certain conditions. The company, which is investigating the crash, also said it was the driver’s responsibility to maintain control of the vehicle. In this case, it said, the driver’s hands were not detected on the steering wheel.
Mr Luo, who filmed the incident with a dashboard camera, said his car hit a vehicle parked half off the road.
Tesla owners all said salespeople described the cars’ function in Chinese as “self-driving”, a term the company generally avoids using in English, and took their hands off the wheel while demonstrating it.
Source: Tesla car on autopilot mode crashes in Beijing – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
Hoverboard fires, food scares fuel jump in Australia product recalls: ACCC
There has been a concerning jump in the number of products recalled in Australia in the past year, the ACCC says.
Source: Hoverboard fires, food scares fuel jump in Australia product recalls: ACCC
Ms Rickard said button batteries, which can be lethal to children of swallowed, are a continuing concern across a number of products.
“We’ve been working with industry to get a code in place that’s going to lead to much better containment of button batteries, and major retailers not being able to sell products that don’t have batteries properly screwed in,” she said.
“We most frequently get the recalls around children’s novelty products which flash, things like kids bracelets, flashing rings, drinking cups which are cheaply made so easily break.
“They’re also there in car keys, TV remote controls, kitchen scales, hearing aids, so they’re virtually ubiquitous, so we’re saying to anyone who supplies products that contain button batteries, unless they are securely contained so children can’t access them, they shouldn’t be sold at all.”
Dealing With Product Liability Down Under – Law360
This is the first in a series of articles about product liability and the management of litigation in Australia and how it differs from the way things are done in the United States.
The basic structure of the Australian legal courts system and Australia’s product liability laws are similar to those in the United States, but with some important differences…
Source: Dealing With Product Liability Down Under – Law360 (login required)
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