Component Parts Doctrine Clarified in California

The component parts doctrine doesn’t bar a sick employee from suing a company that supplied raw materials to his employer, the California Supreme Court ruled June 23 (Ramos v. Brenntag Specialties Inc., Cal., S218176, 6/23/16).

The component parts doctrine provides a defense to a supplier for injury caused by a finished product into which the component parts had previously been integrated.

But doctrine doesn’t apply in this case because the injury was caused by the supplied product itself when used in an intended fashion, the court said.

Clarifies Applicable Law.

“The decision in Ramos clarifies the applicable ...