Product manufacturers typically raise the following defenses in the trial of strict liability-personal injury/wrongful death cases in Pennsylvania.

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  • The product complied with all industry and government standards.
  • The product met or exceeded the state of the industry/customs and practices.
  • The plaintiff was comparatively at fault.
  • There was no feasible alternative design.
  • Other parties or nonparties at fault.

Under Pennsylvania law, most of these factual/legal assertions should not see the "light of day" at trial. Our appellate courts have spoken on these issues: