How Product Liability Claims Work in Texas
If you’ve been injured by an unsafe product, there are three different arguments an attorney can use in a product liability case. Determining the correct approach may take an investigation and/or expert consultants. After listening to your story, The Ammons Law Firm will start considering your case from every angle to determine who may be held liable w.
Design Defects
When products don’t follow established safe design patterns or are configured in ways that might cause accidents and injuries even during appropriate consumer use, you may be able to bring a defective design claim. These cases can cover complaints like:
- An SUV is prone to rollover accidents, which cause roof crush injuries
- A piece of heavy machinery is designed so the “off” switch is in a hard-to-reach location, which means a worker has trouble shutting it down when a malfunction occurs
- A semi-truck’s fuel tank is not sheltered by the truck frame, which makes it more likely to rupture during a collision
These types of cases often involve modeling a product and showing alternative designs that would have been safe for consumers. When there are safer alternative products on the marketplace, we may be able to use them as evidence for your claim.
Manufacturing Defects
Just because a product is designed safely doesn’t mean consumers will be able to use it without fear of harm. If a company cuts corners during the manufacturing process or fails to spot/fix an error, the final product might not work as planned. Manufacturing defect claims might involve:
- Airbags that propel dangerous shrapnel at passengers when they inflate
- A stroller being made from subpar materials that can collapse under the weight of a baby
- A batch of medication that was contaminated by a dangerous substance
Such defects may only apply to some batches of each product, making them harder to prove. When you work with The Ammons Law Firm, you’ll also have our network of engineers and consultants on your side to help demonstrate how a manufacturing error turned your product into a hazard.
Marketing Defects
A lot of products come with hazards—we drive vehicles that run on the combustion of highly flammable gasoline, use toxic chemicals to keep our homes clean, and sometimes pursue hobbies that involve items like power tools. However, we expect products that are dangerous to come with warning labels that lay out the risks and provide instructions for safe use. You may be able to make a defective marketing claim when:
- A children’s toy comes with small and/or detachable parts that are not listed as choking hazards
- A drug with potentially dangerous side effects does not warn users about the risks
- A car seat claims to have passed crash tests it actually failed
Marketing materials are responsible for laying out the ways consumers should and should not use products. Companies, in some cases, are expected to foresee reasonable consumer mistakes and warn against them—and not doing so could make them liable for a lawsuit.
Negligence and Product Liability
When it comes to winning a defective product case, you don’t have to prove specific negligence or malice on behalf of the designer, manufacturer, or seller. Companies that make their products available in U.S. markets are bound by law to ensure they are safe for consumers. Simply showing the existence of a defect and proving it materially affected you or a loved one is typically enough to win a case.
Contact the Midland Product Liability Lawyers at The Ammons Law Firm
If you or a loved one were injured or killed by a defective product, you must speak with the Midland product defect attorneys at The Ammons Law Firm. Product liability is a highly complex area of the law and can only be prosecuted by personal injury attorneys with training and experience. At The Ammons Law Firm, our product liability lawyers have over a century of combined experience, and our firm is regarded as one of the preeminent product liability law firms in the nation. Contact us today to learn how we can help you recover fair compensation under the law.
Call us at (281) 801-5617 to speak with our Midland product liability lawyers and learn how we can help you.
