When the failure of a smart product leads to a fire, the
challenge of how smart home applications should be evaluated and
examined as a potential cause becomes a more complex undertaking
than the failure of a similar but dumb product.
Lawyers who defend manufacturers in product liability fire losses
will likely be the first to challenge expert findings from a fire
scene investigation and laboratory analysis of evidence and
artifacts collected post-fire if IoT-connected products found at
the scene are not addressed in a way that takes into account the
new complexities and vulnerabilities. In particular, the ability to
"rule out" an IoT product rather than point to it as a
cause may be more problematic if the investigator and experts
retained to conduct the cause and origin investigation
fundamentally do not understand the complexity of the smart
products − or until the standards catch up with the
technology.
Read H. Michael O'Brien's most recent contribution to IoT literature, " The Impact of the Smart Home Revolution on Product Liability and Fire Cause Determinations."
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
