There are many ways that a defective product can hurt you. The designers of a product must design it in a way that it is safe to use. The manufacturer must make it to ensure it is safe to use. If either of these people knows of a possible danger to using the product, they have to issue a clear warning to the consumer.
Proving Your Case
When you are injured, who do you sue for defective products? Texas does not make it easy to win one of these cases. The defective product claims lawyer that takes this type of case on has to not only prove that the defective product caused injury, but that it would have caused injury to any reasonable person. Even then, it is not enough to win a judgment.
In Texas, the court requires that you show:
- They could have used a less dangerous design.
- The technology and financial burden would have been a reasonable alternative.
- By changing the design, the correct use of the product would have been possible and with less risk.
This is a big order to fill. Most are not product designers, nor do you know the cost of producing an item. This is another good reason to speak with an attorney.
Manufacturing Defect
When a product is defecting due to a manufacturing defect, it is usually caught in quality control. Most manufacturing defects happen to one product, but maybe not to the entire production run. You do not have the special burdens of proof as in the design defect. However, you do have to show that the design happened and so did the results. This is especially hard if the product was destroyed in the use. Again, you need an experienced attorney.
Failure To Warn
If there is a risk of using the product and the manufacturer does not give clear warning and instructions on proper use, it can be considered defective. For example, if a child safety seat will fall because it is not firmly attached to the table, that should be on the box or enclosed. It is not enough to say “attach to the table.” They must spell out the danger as in, “Attach to the table. Press down until you hear a click. Failure to attach to the table will result in the seat falling.”
Prescription Drugs
This is the one area that is most confusing. You’ve all seen the huge warning pages that come with every prescription you purchase. These are FDA approved warnings for that medication. Failure to provide those warnings makes the manufacturer liable if someone takes the drug and suffers one of those warnings. This is a case where the manufacturer believes that the risk of taking the medication is less than the seriousness of not taking it. The consumer has the information and they speak with their doctor. If the doctor agrees the medication is low risk for them, they continue.
As you can see, the laws about these types of failures are complicated. If you are injured by a defective product, you are advised to contact a defective product claims attorney.
