Under Texas product liability law, a manufacturer is strictly liable for injuries to consumers caused by specific types of product defects. Defects in a product’s core design are one of the more common causes of action for claims of this nature, but they can also be one of the trickiest to build a successful claim around. This is primarily because of the additional requirements you have to meet to even file a design defect claim in the first place.
Our product liability attorneys at Schechter, Shaffer & Harris have extensive experience achieving positive results in all types of defective product claims. We could provide the tailored support you need to succeed. If you have been hurt by an inherently unsafe consumer product recently, a Galveston design defect lawyer from our team could assist you in determining liability.
Establishing Strict Liability for a Design Defect
The basic rules for filing a suit for an injury caused by a product’s defective design are the same as those for lawsuits involving other types of legally actionable product defects. In brief, you must demonstrate that all the following things are true to have a legal basis to file a product liability lawsuit:
- You suffered an injury serious enough to require professional medical attention
- That injury occurred while you were using a particular product for its intended purpose and otherwise in a reasonable way
- A significant defect in the product, where every unit of the product that was ever produced was dangerous in roughly the same way, was the main and direct cause of your injury
- The defect existed in the product when it left its manufacturer’s direct control
- The product’s condition had not meaningfully changed between when it left its manufacturer’s control and when you took possession of it
A manufacturer held strictly liable for an injury on these grounds is liable for your damages regardless of whether they did anything specifically reckless or careless to cause their product to be defective. Our attorneys in Galveston could further explain the criteria applicable in determining a design defect during an initial consultation.
What Is the “Alternative Design” Requirement for Design Defect Lawsuits?
In addition to everything listed above, you must also prove that a satisfactory “alternative design” existed to hold a manufacturer strictly liable for a design defect. Under state law, this entails showing that the defendant manufacturer feasibly could have designed their product in a specific, safe way without unreasonable financial expenditure and without materially reducing the product’s usefulness.
Based on existing court precedent, you may also need to show that your presented alternative design likely would have prevented the specific injury you sustained. A lawyer from our Galveston office could explore in greater detail the arguments on which you could build your design defect claim and the evidence you will need to support that claim in court.
Get Help From a Design Defect Attorney in Galveston
While some types of product defects are fairly obvious once you make an effort to find them, others can be difficult to identify as dangerous. Design defects can be particularly challenging to detect in this way, and for this reason, it can be uniquely hard to take effective legal action against them.
Fortunately, you have help available from the capable injury attorneys at Schechter, Shaffer & Harris. Call us today to learn what a Galveston design defect lawyer from our firm could do to assist you.
