Products liability is defined as the liability that the owner or manufacturer of a product owes to the consumer for any inherent dangers in the product that have caused some injuries. Products liability is based on the tort law principle of negligence. It states that any manufacturer who was not careful with the manufacturing of their product must be held liable for not only their actions, but also the omission of dutiful acts.
Recently, Harley-Davidson, the world-renowned motorcycle manufacturers, were compelled to recall 46,000 of their cycles because they were found to be defective. The clutches in these new motorcycles were not capable of fully disengaging thereby keeping the vehicle in gear. This motorcycle had the potential of causing multiple motorcycle accidents since the motorcycle rider was more likely to lose control over their vehicle if it was started while still in gear.
Motorcycle riders are extremely vulnerable on the roads and such defects and inherent dangers could put them in even more danger. Several consumers had complained about the problem with the motorcycle which has been attributed to air bubbles in the cylinders. Sadly, by the time Harley Davidson announced the recall, 27 motorcycle accidents, which led four injuries, had already occurred. Luckily, none of the four injuries were reported to be major.
The company has stated that the problems are being looked into and will be resolved through the company's dealers. Owners will have to take their motorcycles to a dealer who will flush the motorcycle's clutch and rebuild the master cylinder. This recall has been effective since the last week of April.