Alaska Civil Pattern Jury Instruction 7.03

A product is defective if:

(1) the product differed from the manufacturer's intended result; or the product differed from other units of the same product line; or

(2) the product failed to perform as safely as an ordinary consumer would expect when used in an intended or reasonably foreseeable manner; or

(3) if the use of the product in a manner that is reasonably foreseeable by the defendant involves a substantial danger that would not be readily recognized by the ordinary user of the product and the manufacturer fails to give adequate warning of such danger. An adequate warning is a warning that clearly indicates the scope of the risk or danger posed by the product, reasonably communicates the extent or seriousness of harm that could result from the risk or danger, and is conveyed in a manner that would alert a reasonably prudent person; or

(4)(A) the plaintiff proves that the product's design legally caused injury, and

(B) the defendant fails to prove, in light of the relevant factors, that, on balance, the benefits of the design outweigh the risk of danger inherent in such design.

In determining (B), you may consider, among other things:

(a) the gravity of the danger posed by the challenged design;

(b) the likelihood that such danger would occur;

(c) the adverse consequences to the product and to the user that would result from an alternative design;

(d) the mechanical feasibility of a safer alternative design; and

(e) the financial cost of an improved design.

In considering the mechanical feasibility and financial cost of other designs, you may consider how other manufacturers design similar products.