Products Liability under Thai Law

The Liability Arising from Damages from Unsafe Products Act of BE covers product liability in Thailand. This becomes effective on February 21, 2009, and which is Law No. 2551 (2008). Before the Unsafe Products Act was passed, consumers hurt by unsafe products typically only had legal redress under the Civil and Commercial Code, which put the burden of proof on the consumer to show that the manufacturer, distributor, or another person in the supply chain was negligent. However, the Unsafe Products Act enables customers to bring strict responsibility lawsuits against supply chain defendants. The Unsafe Products Act has not yet been the subject of any notable Thai Supreme Court decisions, although the following are some key provisions:

  • No of the design or manufacturing flaw, a product is deemed unsafe under Section 4 of the Act if it damages or has the potential to injure a consumer. A product is also deemed unsafe if its usage or storage-related warnings or instructions are absent, incomplete, or unclear when compared to the typical way that the product is used and stored. However, a Ministerial Regulation passed in 2010 specifically exempts agricultural products that pass particular standardized treatment procedures, and a Ministerial Regulation passed in 2011 specifically exempts medicines and medical equipment created by healthcare providers to treat patients in particular situations.
  • All parties in the supply chain, including the manufacturer, importer, "party authorizing the production," and any other party using a trademark, trade name, or other indicator that the party is one of the aforementioned parties in the supply chain, are jointly liable under the law, as stated in Section 5 of the Act.
  • If the other participants in the supply chain cannot be located, the seller will be responsible.
  • However, if the manufacturer can demonstrate that the danger posed by the product was caused by a design flaw of the party authorizing production or that the manufacturer was merely carrying out the orders of the party authorizing production, Section 8 of the Act exempts the manufacturer from accountability. A manufacturer will also not be held responsible if the items' hazard stems from the type of instructions for use or storage provided by the person who authorized their production.
  • According to the strict responsibility concept, Section 6 of the Act only requires a consumer to demonstrate two things: (1) damages, and (2) that the products were used and stored normally. There is no necessity to demonstrate any wrongdoing on the part of a supply chain participant. Additionally, a consumer (or the surviving family) may be awarded damages for mental impairment in accordance with Section 11(1) of the Act. In any scenario, if the customer can demonstrate the supply chain party's negligence or other wrongdoing, they are not barred from pursuing additional remedies under Section 420 of the Civil and Commercial Code. 
According to Section 12 of the Act, the statute of limitations is as follows:
  • An action must be brought within three years of the consumer learning of the harm and the names of the supply chain's accountable parties, but not more than ten years after the goods was sold; or
  • An action must be filed within three years of the consumer becoming aware of (1) the injury and (2) the identity of the parties in the supply chain responsible for it, but not more than ten years after the consumer became aware of the injury, unless the injury was caused by an accumulation of chemicals in the body or it took some time before symptoms appeared.
Law governing product liability is intricate. Consumers who have purchased a dangerous product are recommended to speak with knowledgeable legal counsel.

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