risk utility test
risk-utility test. A method of imposing product liability on a manufacturer if the evidence shows that a reasonable person would conclude that the benefits of a product’s particular design versus the feasibility of an alternative safer design did not outweigh the dangers inherent in the original design. — Also termed danger-utility test; risk-benefit test. Cf. CONSUMER-CONTEMPLATION TEST T. [Cases: Products Liability 11. C.J.S. Products Liability §§ 19–21.]