WPI 110.23 Burden of Proof—Design—Assumption of Risk or Contributory Negligence
6 WAPRAC WPI 110.23Washington Practice Series TMWashington Pattern Jury Instructions--Civil
6 Wash. Prac., Wash. Pattern Jury Instr. Civ. WPI 110.23 (7th ed.)
Washington Practice Series TM
Washington Pattern Jury Instructions--Civil
April 2022 Update
Part IX. Particularized Standards of Conduct
Chapter 110. Product Liability
WPI 110.23 Burden of Proof—Design—Assumption of Risk or Contributory Negligence
The plaintiff has the burden of proving each of the following propositions:
First, that the defendant [was a manufacturer and] supplied a product that was not reasonably safe as designed at the time the product left the defendant's control;
Second, that the [plaintiff was injured] [and] [or] [plaintiff's property was damaged]; and
Third, that the unsafe condition of the product was a proximate cause of the plaintiff's [injury] [and] [or] [damage].
The defendant has the burden of proving [both] [all] of the following propositions:
[First, that the plaintiff assumed the risk of injury or damage from the product;]
[Second, that the plaintiff's assumption of risk was a proximate cause of the plaintiff's own injuries or damages;]
[[Third] [First], that the plaintiff acted, or failed to act, in one of the ways claimed by the defendant, and that in so acting or failing to act, the plaintiff was negligent;]
[[Fourth] [Second], that the negligence of the plaintiff was a proximate cause of the plaintiff's own injuries or damages and was therefore contributory negligence.]
NOTE ON USE
Use this instruction, along with WPI 110.02 (Manufacturer's Duty—Design), if the issue is a manufacturer's strict liability for an unsafe design and there is an affirmative defense of assumption of risk or contributory negligence. For a claim involving enhanced injuries in a crashworthiness case, see the following instructions and their Notes on Use and Comments: WPI 110.02.02 (Injury—Manufacturing and/or Design Defect), WPI 110.02.03 (Injury—Manufacturing and/or Design Defect—Allocation of Fault), and WPI 110.02.04 (Crashworthiness/Enhanced Damage and Injury—Manufacturing and/or Design Defect—Verdict Form for Use with WPI 110.30.01, 110.30.02, 110.31.01, and 110.31.02).
Use bracketed material as applicable. If there is a jury issue whether the defendant was a manufacturer as defined in RCW 7.72.010, use the material in the first set of brackets.
Along with this instruction, use: the applicable proximate cause instruction from WPI Chapter 15; WPI 21.01 (Meaning of Burden of Proof—Preponderance of Evidence); WPI 110.10 (Assumption of Risk—Contributory Negligence); and the appropriate product liability verdict form (either WPI 110.30.01 (Special Verdict Form—Product Liability—No Affirmative Defenses—No Empty Chairs) or WPI 110.30.02 (Special Verdict Form—Product Liability—No Affirmative Defenses—Empty Chairs)).
[Current as of December 2020.]
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