Katy Product Liability Lawyer

Millions of consumer goods pass through Texas daily. Generally, products are envisioned, designed, formulated, and constructed to be safe and effective, whether they are cars you drive or medicine you take. But sometimes, products are defective and end up harming people.

When a consumer product harms someone, then the manufacturer, distributor, or retailer could all potentially be held accountable. If you were using the product as intended, a Katy product liability lawyer could explore whether manufacturing or design defects, or a failure to warn consumers, could support a personal injury lawsuit.

Failure to Warn

When consumers need explicit instructions about how to use a product correctly, or are not properly warned of product dangers, the manufacturer and others in the supply chain could be liable for injuries.

Warning Labels

The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) governs safety label rules for consumer products. Warning labels must:

• Disclose known hazards
• Disclose the risks involved in using the product
• Include color-coded keys that explain the severity of the risk; red represents serious danger; orange potential serious danger; and yellow for slight danger
• Disclose how consumers can avoid the hazard

Several additional consumer protection rules are also in place, and if a manufacturer breaches them, a Katy defective products attorney could determine if a lawsuit is appropriate.

Design Defects

Design defects affect all the products manufactured according to the conceived, faulty design. If the manufacturer should have or could have known the design would cause problems, or if a better design was available at a reasonable cost, the injured consumer may have a claim against them.

Manufacturing Defects

Manufacturing defects happen when the design is fundamentally solid, but something goes wrong when some product batches are manufactured incorrectly, often during assembly. The manufacturer could be strictly liable for any harm to the plaintiff, even if the manufacturer did not act negligently during product construction.

Lawsuits for Negligence, Strict Liability, and Breach of Warranty

Plaintiffs in Pittsville can bring product liability lawsuits under the doctrines of negligence, strict liability, and breach of warranty.

Negligence requires proof that the product’s design or manufacturing process is faulty, because the defendant acted below the standards of a reasonable designer or manufacturer that would not have produced the harmful product, and the plaintiff was injured.

Plaintiffs relying on strict liability do not need to prove negligence. The designer or manufacturer may have acted reasonably, but if the product was defective when the manufacturer released it into the supply chain, and a consumer was injured, they will still be liable for damages. The product must be purchased in the original distribution chain, making products purchased in resale shops or garage sales ineligible for strict liability claims. The consumer must also have used the product as the manufacturer intended.

When consumers rely on a manufacturer’s warranties, they are either express or implied. Manufacturers provide express warranties when they make specific claims about how the product works and its safety. Implied warranties are not expressly stated but speak to the consumer’s expectations about how the product should perform. A product liability attorney in Katy could speak with a plaintiff about which type of doctrine their claim hinges on.

Damages for Defective Product Injuries

Compensation can cover a range of economic and non-economic harm someone suffers if a defective product injures them. Generally, their medical bills, property damage, and wages lost while recovering are reimbursed. There could also be compensation for any disfigurement, emotional anguish, and loss of consortium.

Seek Compensation with a Katy Product Liability Attorney

Manufacturers should never release defective products into the stream of commerce, but it happens all the time. Whether it is a baby’s crib, medication, or auto airbags that proves dangerous, you may have the right to compensation.

A product can be defective by design, during manufacturing, or because you were not warned of known dangers. Seeking and receiving compensation is a complex process. Call us and learn how a Katy product liability lawyer could help you file a lawsuit.