Defective product: modifying a machine, even out of necessity, can cost you dearly

A farmer buys a straw blower (a machine that shreds straw and spreads it in livestock buildings).

On this model, cutting the netting off the bales from the outside is virtually impossible: you have to get inside the machine to do it.

However, the manufacturer prohibits this, as indicated by a pictogram on the cover, and designs the door to be too narrow for anyone to pass through.

Nevertheless, for the needs of his work, the farmer widened the door so he could enter.

One day, while he was inside the machine, a barrier brushed against the door's control button (which was highly sensitive and not protected by the manufacturer) and the machine started up: a bale was propelled into it and the door slammed shut.

The man was crushed to death.

The court of appeal ruled out any fault on the part of the victim, attributing the accident solely to a design defect.

The Court of Cassation overturned the decision: anyone who modifies a product in disregard of the manufacturer's restrictions commits an act of negligence, even when doing so to remedy a design defect.

This fault can reduce the producer's liability (Art. 1245-12 of the Civil Code).