When you bring a product into your home, whether it is a new kitchen appliance, a child’s toy, or a family car, you operate on a basic level of trust. You trust that the item is safe and will work as advertised.
When that trust is broken and an unsafe product causes injury, the path forward is often confusing and overwhelming. If you are recovering from an injury caused by a faulty item, you might be facing medical bills, time away from work, and physical pain.
Learning about defective product liability claims is a first step in exploring the options available to you and your family.
Defective Product Liability Claims: Three Main Categories
In the eyes of the law, a product defect is not a single, simple thing. Instead, product liability cases generally fall into one of three distinct categories. Identifying which category a situation fits into is a key part of building a case and a defective product lawyer can help determine the right approach.
The injury must stem from a defect that was present when the product left the manufacturer's control. The three main types of defects are:
- Design Defects: The problem is with the product's very blueprint. Every single item made with that design is potentially dangerous.
- Manufacturing Defects: The design is safe, but an error during the production or assembly process made a specific item or batch of items unsafe.
- Marketing Defects: The product was designed and built correctly, but it was sold without adequate instructions or warnings about non-obvious dangers. This is often called "failure to warn."
Design Defects
A design defect is a flaw in the original plan for a product. This means the product is unreasonably dangerous even when it is made perfectly according to its specifications. Think of it like a recipe with a dangerous ingredient; no matter how well you follow the instructions, the final dish will be harmful.
A product with a design defect poses a threat to every consumer who uses it because the problem is embedded in its core concept.
Examples
These defects are not just minor inconveniences. They are fundamental flaws that create a hazard during normal use. For example, a new model of car might be designed to be top-heavy, making it prone to rolling over during a normal turn on a Texas highway.
- An electric space heater is designed without an automatic shut-off feature, creating a fire risk if it tips over.
- A children's toy is designed with small, detachable parts that present a serious choking hazard for the age group it is marketed to.
- A piece of medical equipment is designed in a way that makes it difficult to properly sterilize, leading to patient infections.
Proving a Design Defect Claim
To show that a product has a design defect, one common approach in Texas involves the "safer alternative design" test. This means demonstrating that the manufacturer could have used a different, safer design that was both technologically and economically feasible at the time.
This alternative design would have prevented or significantly reduced the risk of injury without substantially impairing the product's utility.
A successful design defect claim typically shows the following:
- The product possessed an unreasonable level of danger because of its design.
- A practical and economically viable safer design was available to the manufacturer.
- The specific design flaw was the direct cause of the injury.
An Error in Assembly: Exploring Manufacturing Defects
Unlike a design defect that affects every unit, a manufacturing defect is an anomaly. It is an error that occurs during the production phase, making one particular product, or a specific batch of them, different from all the others that were safely made.
The product's design is sound, but a mistake on the assembly line, a contaminated component, or a simple human error made it dangerous. Imagine buying a new bicycle in Austin for riding around Lady Bird Lake, but the brakes fail on the first ride because a cable was improperly installed at the factory. This is a classic manufacturing defect.
How Manufacturing Defects Happen
These errors are not part of the plan; they are deviations from it. They slip through quality control and end up in the hands of consumers, often with serious consequences.
- Use of Substandard Materials: A company uses a weaker metal alloy than specified in the design, causing a ladder rung to break under normal weight.
- An Error on the Assembly Line: A crucial screw is left out of a power tool, causing it to fly apart during use.
- Contamination: A batch of food sold in stores from Temple to Killeen is contaminated with a harmful substance at the processing plant.
Spotting a Manufacturing Defect
The key to a manufacturing defect is showing that the faulty product departed from its intended design and that this departure caused the injury. The product you have is different from a "perfect" version of the same item.
To establish a manufacturing defect, you generally need to show that:
- The specific product you have differs from the manufacturer's own design specifications and other typical examples.
- The defect existed at the time the product left the factory.
- This defect was the direct cause of the harm you suffered.
Failure to Warn
The third type of claim is a marketing defect, or a "failure to warn." Here, the product is designed safely and manufactured correctly. The danger comes from the information, or lack thereof, provided to the consumer. The manufacturer is responsible for providing clear instructions for safe use and warning consumers about any hidden dangers that are not obvious.
When they fail to do this, they create a marketing defect.
What Constitutes a Marketing Defect?
This type of defect is all about communication. It is not enough to make a safe product; it also has to be sold with the information necessary for people to use it safely.
Think of a powerful cleaning chemical sold without a warning that it releases toxic fumes when mixed with another common household product.
A marketing defect can include:
- Inadequate Instructions: The instructions for assembling a piece of furniture are confusing, leading a person to build it improperly so that it collapses.
- Insufficient Warnings: A prescription drug is sold without a clear warning about severe side effects or dangerous interactions with other medications.
- Improper Marketing: An all-terrain vehicle (ATV) is marketed for use by two riders when it was designed and is only stable enough for one, leading to rollover accidents.
The Importance of Clear Warnings
For a warning to be legally adequate, it must be easy for the average person to see, understand, and appreciate the danger. A tiny-print warning hidden in the middle of a thick instruction manual is insufficient if the threat is significant.
An adequate warning generally has these qualities:
- It is positioned in a way that the user is likely to see it before use.
- It clearly communicates the nature and severity of the risk.
- It is written in language that the expected user can easily comprehend.
Legal Foundations for Defective Product Liability Claims
In Texas, defective product liability claims are usually based on a few key legal theories. These are the frameworks used to hold manufacturers and sellers accountable for the harm their products cause.
While they sound complicated, the ideas behind them are straightforward.
The most common legal grounds for these claims are:
- Strict Liability
- Negligence
- Breach of Warranty
Strict Liability Explained
Strict liability is a powerful concept in product injury cases. Strict liability means that if a product is defective and causes an injury, the manufacturer or seller is responsible, regardless of whether they were careless. You do not have to prove the company acted negligently.
The focus is on the product itself, not the company's behavior.
To make a case based on strict liability, you typically need to demonstrate three things:
- The product had an unreasonably dangerous defect (design, manufacturing, or marketing).
- The injury occurred while the product was being used in a way that was intended or reasonably foreseeable.
- The defendant, whether it is the manufacturer, distributor, or retailer, is in the business of selling that product.
Negligence in Product Cases
A claim based on negligence argues that the company failed to exercise a reasonable standard of care in creating or selling the product. Here, you are looking at the company's actions. Did they cut corners? Did they skip safety tests?
Negligence is about proving that the company made a careless mistake that a more responsible company would not have made.
Examples of negligence in a product liability context include:
- Failing to properly test a product's design before putting it on the market.
- Using a cheap, low-quality supplier for critical components to save money.
- Rushing the manufacturing process and failing to conduct proper quality control inspections.
What to Do After an Injury from a Faulty Product
When you are back home and recovering from an injury caused by a product, taking a few careful steps is helpful. These actions are about preserving evidence and documenting what happened, which is valuable information for any future claim.
- Preserve the Product: This is perhaps the most important step. Do not throw the defective product away, try to fix it, or alter it in any way. Keep the product, any broken pieces, and its packaging in a safe place. It is the primary piece of evidence.
- Document Everything: Write down exactly how the injury happened while it is fresh in your memory. Take photos and videos of the product, the location of the incident, and your injuries. If there were any witnesses, get their names and contact information.
- Gather Your Records: Collect all related paperwork. This includes the receipt or proof of purchase for the product, any instruction manuals or warranties, and all your medical records and bills related to the injury.
Frequently Asked Questions About Defective Product Liability Claims
How long do I have to file a defective product liability claim in Texas?
In Texas, there is a time limit called the statute of limitations. For most personal injury cases, including those involving defective products, you have two years from the date of the injury to file a lawsuit. There are some exceptions, so the specific facts of your situation matter.
Who can be held responsible for a defective product?
Responsibility can extend to anyone in the product's "chain of distribution." This is the path the product takes from creation to consumer. This chain includes:
- The product manufacturer
- A manufacturer of a component part
- The wholesaler or distributor
- The retail store that sold the product to you
What if I was partially at fault or using the product in a slightly incorrect way?
Texas follows a rule called "proportionate responsibility," a form of comparative fault. This means that if you are found to be partially responsible for your own injury, any compensation you receive in defective product lawsuit may be reduced by your percentage of fault. As long as your share of the fault is not more than 50 percent, you are still able to recover damages.
Finding Stability When a Product Fails You
The harm caused by a defective product extends beyond the initial injury. It disrupts your life, creating financial strain and emotional stress for you and your family.
Whether you are in Austin, Waco, or anywhere in Central Texas, facing a large corporation after an injury is an intimidating prospect. You do not have to figure it all out on your own.
Knowing your rights is the first step toward getting your life back on track. The legal process is complex, and an personal injury attorney can help you make sense of your options. If you or a loved one has been injured by a defective product, the team at Lorenz & Lorenz, PLLC, is here to listen to your story.
We provide clear, straightforward information to help you decide what to do next. For a no-cost case evaluation, you can reach us at our Austin office at (512) 477-7333 or our Waco office at (254) 662-4800.