Defective Product Designs and Injury Claims

Defective Product Designs and Injury Claims: What You Need to Know

Imagine purchasing a product with the expectation that it will perform safely, only to suffer a serious injury due to a hidden flaw in its design. Unfortunately, this scenario is a reality for many consumers. Defective product designs can lead to devastating consequences, resulting in significant injuries and complex legal battles. According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), approximately 240,000 emergency department-treated injuries were related to dangerous or defective consumer products in the United States in 2019. If you’ve been injured by a product with a defective design, understanding your rights and legal options is crucial.

What is a Defective Product Design?

A design defect exists when a product’s inherent design makes it unreasonably dangerous, affecting all units of that product type. This means the flaw is present from the initial planning stages, regardless of how carefully the product is manufactured. Design defects occur when a product’s design is inherently unsafe, even when manufactured correctly. The problem lies in the blueprint of the product itself, rather than in the materials or the manufacturing process.

Examples of design defects include:

Top-heavy SUVs prone to rollovers.
Power tools with inadequate safety guards.
Appliances that overheat and cause fires.
Toys with small, detachable parts that pose a choking hazard.
Medical devices with a flawed design that leads to patient harm.

Types of Product Defects

Product liability law recognizes three main types of defects:

Design Defects: As described above, these flaws are inherent in the product’s design, making it unsafe even if manufactured correctly.
Manufacturing Defects: These are errors or deviations that occur during the manufacturing process, causing a safe design to result in a dangerous product.
Marketing Defects (or Failure to Warn): These occur when a product lacks adequate warnings or instructions about potential risks.

Establishing Liability in Defective Product Design Cases

To succeed in a product liability claim based on design defects, the injured party generally needs to demonstrate the following elements:

Proof of Defect: The plaintiff must prove that the product had a design defect and that this flaw made it inherently unsafe.
Injury: The plaintiff must have suffered an actual injury or loss, such as medical bills, lost income, or pain and suffering.
Causation: There must be a direct connection between the defect in the product’s design and the plaintiff’s injury.
Intended Use: The injury typically must have occurred while the product was being used as intended or in a foreseeable manner.

Legal Theories in Defective Product Cases

Plaintiffs in defective product cases can pursue claims based on several legal theories:

Negligence: This involves proving that the manufacturer or designer failed to exercise reasonable care in designing the product.
Strict Liability: In many states, manufacturers are held strictly liable for injuries caused by their defective products, regardless of negligence. This means the focus is on the product’s defect, not the manufacturer’s conduct.
Breach of Warranty: This theory applies when a product fails to meet certain standards or promises made by the manufacturer.

Tests Used to Determine Design Defects

Courts often use specific tests to determine if a product design is defective:

Risk-Utility Test: This test weighs the risks associated with the product’s design against its benefits. If the risks outweigh the benefits, the product may be deemed defective.
Consumer Expectation Test: This test assesses whether the product performed as a reasonable consumer would expect when used as intended. If the product fails to meet these expectations in a way that leads to injury, it may be deemed defective.

The Role of Expert Witnesses

Expert witnesses are crucial in defective product cases. They can provide specialized knowledge to help juries understand complex technical matters and establish essential elements of a plaintiff’s claim. Engineers, medical experts, and material scientists are often called upon to analyze product designs, assess causation, and explain how a defect led to an injury.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC)

The CPSC is a U.S. government agency responsible for protecting the public from unreasonable risks of injury or death associated with consumer products. The CPSC has the authority to:

Develop voluntary standards with industry.
Issue and enforce mandatory standards.
Ban consumer products if no standard would adequately protect the public.
Obtain recalls of products and arrange for their repair, replacement, or refund.
Conduct research on potential product hazards.
Inform and educate consumers.

The CPSC also maintains a public database, SaferProducts.gov, where consumers can report harm from products and access recall information.

Statute of Limitations

It’s crucial to be aware of the statute of limitations, which is the legally defined timeframe within which you must file a lawsuit after an injury occurs. In product liability cases, this timeframe generally begins when the injury happens or when the injury is discovered. The statute of limitations varies by state, typically ranging from one to six years, with two or three years being common.

Do You Have a Claim?

If you or a loved one has been injured by a product with a defective design, it’s essential to seek legal advice from an experienced product liability attorney. A skilled attorney can:

Evaluate your case and determine the best legal strategy.
Investigate the product’s design and manufacturing process.
Gather evidence to support your claim.
Negotiate with the manufacturer or their insurance company.
Represent you in court if necessary.

Don’t wait to take action. Contact a product liability attorney today to discuss your rights and options.

Defective Product Designs and Injury Claims