Product Liability and Employer Liability in Workplace Accidents

A workplace accident is often treated as a compensation dispute between an employee and an employer. When the accident involves a defective press, an unguarded cutting machine, faulty lifting equipment or inadequate protective gear, however, the dispute becomes a multi-party liability chain involving the manufacturer, importer, seller, maintenance contractor and employer. This article summarises, from the corporate side (employers, manufacturers, suppliers, insurers), how the two liability regimes operate together under Turkish law.

1. Two regimes, one event

Three claim lines can open at the same time:

• Employee or beneficiaries → employer: breach of the employer’s duty to protect the employee (contractual liability) and tort-based compensation.
• Social Security Institution (SGK) → liable parties: the Institution’s right of recourse for benefits paid to the employee (Law No. 5510).
• Employer (and its insurer) → manufacturer / supplier / maintenance contractor: recourse and defect claims where the source of harm is a defective product or service.

A workplace accident claim against an employer is therefore also the starting point of a product liability strategy against manufacturers and suppliers.

2. Employer liability

The employer’s liability rests on the protective duty in the Turkish Code of Obligations (Law No. 6098, art. 417) and the general obligations in the Occupational Health and Safety Law (Law No. 6331). Employers must assess risks, provide suitable equipment, train staff and maintain supervision.

Compensation typically covers:

• For bodily injury: treatment costs, loss of earnings from temporary and permanent incapacity, and non-pecuniary damages.
• For death: funeral costs, loss-of-support compensation and non-pecuniary damages.

Courts base fault and loss calculations on expert reports. Amounts covered by SGK are offset against what the employee can claim from the employer, so the Institution’s recourse claim and the employee’s claim must be considered together.

3. Manufacturer liability: defective machinery and equipment

Where a product defect contributed to the accident, the manufacturer’s exposure is examined under three headings:

1. Design defect: no protection against foreseeable misuse (interlocks, guards, emergency stop).
2. Manufacturing defect: parts or assembly departing from the design; batch defects.
3. Instruction and warning defect: missing, unclear or non-Turkish manuals and warning labels.

For machinery placed on the market, the Machinery Safety Regulation, the CE conformity process and Law No. 7223 on Product Safety and Technical Regulations define the key duties. A CE mark and declaration of conformity do not automatically exempt a manufacturer, but the conformity file is one of the core pieces of defense evidence.

The legal basis on which an employee may claim against a manufacturer depends on the facts. Because the applicability of consumer legislation to equipment used for commercial or professional purposes can be contested, general tort provisions (Code of Obligations, art. 49 et seq.) and contractual defect provisions are typically assessed together.

4. Allocation of fault and employee negligence

Loss is allocated according to fault. Three basic scenarios arise:

• Employer (or manufacturer) wholly at fault, employee not: liability rests fully with the party at fault.
• Shared fault: where employee carelessness combines with inadequate precautions or a product defect, each party is liable in proportion to its fault, and the employee’s fault may reduce compensation (Code of Obligations, art. 52).
• Employee wholly at fault: subject to strict-liability situations, an employer is not liable under fault-based liability.

In practice, an allegation of employee “carelessness” is rarely a sufficient defense on a machine without safety devices or one whose safeguards can be bypassed, because protection against foreseeable human error is part of safe design. The technical condition of the machine therefore becomes central in the expert examination.

5. Multiple liable parties: joint liability and recourse

Where several persons are liable for the same harm, the Code of Obligations provisions on multiple tortfeasors (arts. 61-62) apply: liable parties may be jointly liable toward the employee, while the allocation between them is resolved through recourse in the internal relationship. An employer planning to recover compensation from a manufacturer, importer, seller or maintenance contractor should assess from the outset:

• The warranty, indemnity and limitation of liability clauses in purchase and maintenance contracts,
• Limitation periods and notice deadlines,
• Whether to give third-party notice of the lawsuit.

6. Evidence preservation: the first 72 hours

• Keep the machine and its parts unaltered; request evidence preservation proceedings where needed.
• Collect manuals, CE conformity documents, maintenance and fault logs, risk assessments and training records.
• Report the accident to law enforcement immediately and to SGK within three business days of the accident; late reporting can trigger administrative sanctions.
• Give written notice to the manufacturer, maintenance contractor and insurer within the periods stated in the contracts.

7. Protective equipment and infection in healthcare

Needle-stick injuries, defective protective equipment and medical device-related bodily harm in healthcare facilities fall into the same chain. Whether a healthcare worker’s infection is treated as a workplace accident or an occupational disease is determined separately: infections contracted in the working environment are generally occupational diseases, while sudden exposures such as bodily-fluid splashes call for an accident notification. Where protective equipment (masks, gowns, gloves) or a device was defective, claims against the manufacturer may also arise.

8. Corporate checklist

• Archive CE conformity files, manuals and warranty terms when purchasing machinery and equipment.
• Define indemnity and notice mechanisms clearly in purchase contracts.
• Check the scope and notification periods of product liability and employer’s liability insurance.
• Put the post-accident evidence preservation procedure in writing in advance.
• Keep supplier audits and maintenance records up to date.

This article is for general information only and does not constitute legal advice. Seek legal support for your specific case.