In re Coordinated Latex Glove Litigation
California Court of Appeal
121 Cal. Rptr.2d 301 (2002)
Christine McGinnis (plaintiff), a nurse who developed a serious latex allergy, sued Baxter (defendant) claiming its latex gloves were manufactured with a defect causing her allergic reaction, partly attributing the problem to Baxter's delayed adoption of washing or chlorinating procedures that would have reduced allergenic proteins; Baxter countered that it continually adjusted its protein-reduction procedures to balance allergen reduction against barrier-protection risks like pinholes, and that no federal law mandated the washing procedures McGinnis argued were required. The jury found Baxter liable for a manufacturing defect and awarded nearly $900,000, though it found no proximate cause for negligence and rejected the failure-to-warn claim entirely; the trial court granted Baxter judgment notwithstanding the verdict on the manufacturing defect claim, and McGinnis appealed.
Whether a plaintiff in a strict products liability manufacturing defect claim must sufficiently prove that the product was not manufactured in conformity with the manufacturer's design or differs from other identical units in the same product line.