When a product you purchase turns out to be dangerous, the results can be catastrophic. From faulty appliances to unsafe baby gear, defective products cause thousands of injuries or even death each year.
But what if you share partial blame? Will that affect your personal injury claim?
3 types of product defects
Manufacturers need to ensure their products are safe. Therefore, there should be accountability if one harms a customer. That is the concept of strict liability. A company can be held legally responsible for injuries caused by its defective product, even if it wasn’t negligent. It’s not necessary to prove carelessness on the part of the manufacturer, only that the product itself was defective and caused injury.
There are three types of product defects:
- Design defects: the product’s design is unsafe.
- Manufacturing defects: the product’s design is safe, but something went wrong during production.
- Marketing defects: The company failed to provide adequate warnings about known dangers or safety instructions.
A strict liability case requires certain key elements:
- The product was defective in design, manufacturing or marketing
- That defect made the product more dangerous than an ordinary consumer would expect
- The defect existed when the product left the manufacturer
- Your injury was a direct result of the defect
Anyone in the chain of distribution can be held responsible for a defective product, including:
- The manufacturer
- The distributor
- The retailer
However, Texas does have some protections for retailers. In most cases, they can only be held liable if they had control over the design or production, altered the product, improperly installed it or gave you incorrect information about it. Additionally, as an “innocent seller”, the retailer can seek indemnity from the manufacturer if they suffer any losses due to a product liability claim.
One essential thing to know is that Texas has a modified comparative fault system. If you share partial responsibility for your injury, your compensation may be reduced. If you were injured by a defective product, you will want to work with someone who can review your claim and help you get the compensation you’re entitled to.