ABSTRACT
Section 5 contains various limiting provisions relating to the type and amount of damage for which damages are recoverable under the Act. Section 5(1) provides that ‘damage’ means death or personal injury or any loss of or damage to property. It may be that this is more narrow than the type of damage recoverable for negligence. For example, suppose that Z suffered damage to himself and his car because of defective brakes manufactured by Y. It may be that consequential loss, for example, the hiring of an alternative car while Z’s car is being repaired, though recoverable in negligence, would be excluded under the Act. Section 5(2) provides that the producer, etc, shall not be liable for the loss of, or any damage to, the product itself or for the loss of, or any damage to, a product which has been supplied with the defective product. (Note that in such a case, the purchaser of the product will have his remedies under the Sale of Goods Act.)
Sub-section (3) limits claims for damage to property to property ordinarily intended for private use or consumption and intended by the claimant for his own private use, occupation or consumption. The effect of this is to exclude commercial property. Thus damage to, for example, a factory or a lorry used in business, will be excluded. However, the factory owner or the lorry owner will still have the possibility of an action in negligence. Subsection (4) puts a lower limit on the damage suffered to property at a minimum of £275. This is permitted by Article 9 of the Directive. It is intended to avoid the system becoming overburdened with small claims. The £275 is not an excess. If someone suffers £300 worth of damage to property, he will recover the entire amount. However, there is no upper limit in the Act on the amount of damages which may be awarded in relation to total damage caused by products with the same defects, though this is permitted by the Directive, Articles 15 and 16.
