With recent attention on companies that have failed consumers, the question of product liability has become quite popular. There are, many different types of product liability cases. It’s clear that these cases are not remotely similar, and not all set to any time frame.
Explore these different types of product liability cases to understand the various elements that made them distinctly separate. These are all companies that you should be well aware of, and maybe you even experienced some form of negative interaction yourself.
What is Product Liability?
In Texas, the state codes around product liability explain that “product liability” is specific to any legal action against a manufacturer or seller to recover damages from personal injury, death, or other damages. Other damages typically refer to property damage.
The application of this means that the manufacturer or the seller must have been negligent in either the sale of the products or the creation of the products. The truth of it is that companies are often negligent. They use subpar materials, fight to have changes to safety requirements that allow them to save a bit of money, and they advertise in ways that make products appear safer.
Even something as simple as not advertising a risk can lead to a product liability case. Ikea is a famous example as they’ve recently faced a lawsuit after lawsuit for furniture tipping over and causing the deaths of children. In those cases, it is a product liability lawsuit, but it is also a wrongful death case.
Aspects That “Prove” Liability
The biggest obstacle for many is proving that the manufacturer or seller was negligent or knowingly took action that could cause harm. So there are a few categories of liability, and they include manufacturers defects, failure to warn, and design defects.
The Ikea example above was a failure to warn. The company was well aware that the products needed to be anchored into a wall to prevent tipping and did not inform the public. Additionally, after the first few lawsuits, they failed to make a reasonable effort to warn those who had purchased items prone to tipping, which lead to more deaths.
Design defects cover aspects of design which appeared not dangerous at first but proved to be dangerous when in use. If a vehicle manufacturer created a design that included an electrical shortage and fire risk, then that is a design defect.
Finally, manufacturer defects are the issues that come up as a deviation of standard design during the manufacturing process. These are the cases about tire treads separating, and Coca-Cola bottles bursting or exploding. There is no part of the design in either situation that would inherently be dangerous. But, the choice of materials or some other stage of production resulted in errors that became dangerous.
Product Liability Falls to Personal Injury Lawyers in Houston, TX
Product liability cases usually lend themselves to personal injury because they caused the injury. However, unlike other types of personal injury, these victims usually need an attorney that specialized in product liability. These cases aren’t one attorney versus a few attorneys from an insurance agency.
Product liability attorneys will often work as a team, or with other legal aids on board, and face off against huge company legal teams. Companies build legal teams around the possibility of major product liability or class-action lawsuit, so they come to court to win. Unless there is clear negligence that they can’t work their way around in court, they probably won’t settle. Additionally, they may need months to sort through the various company information or documentation about the production of that specific product.
These cases go above and beyond your average car accident or dog bite case.. They require extensive legal research, case building, strategy planning, and time spent just preparing to represent the victim.
Are There Personal Injury Attorneys in Houston, TX?
Yes, McDonald Worley is one of a few personal injury offices throughout the greater Houston area. We aim to help out the victims of unavoidable accidents, and product liability cases are clear instances where you could not have done anything to change the outcome of your injury.
When you’re ready to take action against the company that neglected to provide the level of safety they owed to their customers, contact McDonald Worley. Our attorneys work with various injury accidents and instances. Our experience includes product liability and more. Set up your consultation now to learn if you have a case.