Defective products: Inexcusable fault does not exclude compensation

In a judgment of 15 October 2025 (no. 24-10.782), the Court of Cassation provided important details concerning the extent of compensation for commercial damage suffered by an employer who was the victim of a defective product, especially when his own inexcusable fault has been recognized in relation to a seriously injured employee.

This decision is part of the wider framework of liability for defective products and its relationship with other liability regimes.

The facts at the origin of the case

An employee was seriously injured in the face by the explosion of the glass dial of a pressure gauge used to adjust a refrigeration system.

The industrial accident was attributed to an inexcusable fault on the part of the employer by a judgment of the Social Security Court that became irrevocable. As such, the employer was ordered to pay certain amounts to the employee and to the primary health insurance fund.

At the same time, the employer sued the manufacturer in court to ask for:

1. the reimbursement of convictions pronounced against him
2. Thecompensation for commercial damage

At first instance and then on appeal, the judges ordered the manufacturer to reimburse the amounts paid by the employer. On the other hand, they refused to order the manufacturer to compensate the employer for commercial damage on the ground that the employer had committed an inexcusable fault.

Reminder on the defective product regime

Basics of liability for defective products

The liability regime for defective products, resulting from the transposition of European Directive 85/374/EEC of 25 July 1985, aims to protect victims of damage caused by a product with a safety defect.

The provisions relating to liability for defective products are mainly governed by articles 1245 et seq. of the Civil Code. Article 1245-1 of the Civil Code provides that these rules apply to the compensation of damage that results from an injury to the person, as well as to the compensation of damage greater than 500 euros, which results from an injury to property other than the defective product itself.

The inclusion of commercial harm as reparable damage

The Court of Cassation has gradually extended the concept of reparable damage in terms of liability for defective products.

In a judgment of 25 May 2023 (No. 21-23.174), the first civil chamber ruled that pecuniary and extrapatrimonial damages resulting from damage to reputation caused by an injury to the person or to property other than the defective product itself, including by extension, are covered by this regime.

The balance between the responsibility of the manufacturer and that of the employer

In its judgment of October 15, 2025, the Court of Cassation recalls that the fault of the victim or of a person for whom they are responsible may reduce or eliminate the producer's liability. In fact, article 1245-12 of the Civil Code states:

Producer liability may be reduced or eliminated, taking into account all circumstances, when the damage is caused jointly by a defect in the product and by the fault of the victim or a person for whom the victim is responsible.

However, the Court censured the contested judgment because it was the result of the findings of the Court of Appeal that the explosion of the pressure gauge was due to a manufacturing defect, and that the employer's fault was not the sole cause of its commercial injury.

In summary, the inexcusable fault of the employer does not automatically deprive the latter of his right to compensation of its commercial damage by the producer as a result of a defective product, since the defect in the product also contributed to the occurrence of the damage.

Has your business been harmed or condemned as a result of a product safety defect? Contact the firm without delay in order to exercise your rights.