Defective products can cause catastrophic injury and even death. Product defects can be traced to one or more of three main processes in production: the design process, the manufacturing process, and provision of instructions and warnings to the consumer. If a defective product has harmed you or a loved one, you should contact a products liability attorney to discuss your case.

Product Design Defects

A design defect is a fundamental flaw which occurs in the early development of a product that causes the product to be unreasonably dangerous. If a consumer using a product in the manner intended when the product was designed (or in a reasonably foreseeable manner) is injured by the product due to design defects, he may be eligible to receive compensation for injuries.

Proof of Defect

Injured plaintiffs must be able to prove that the product which harmed them was defectively designed. This means that, depending on the state in which legal action is pursued, the plaintiff must show that the design of the product was unreasonably dangerous or the design process was negligent and may also need to show that it was possible to design the same product in a safer manner.

Products with design defects can include an automobile whose accelerator sticks and causes the vehicle to accelerate out of control, drawstrings on a child's sweatshirt that present a suffocation risk, or a frying pan whose handle separates from the pan presenting a risk of serious burns.

Product Manufacturing Defects

Manufacturing defects can happen in spite of a careful and thoughtful design process. No matter how many steps are taken to design a safe product, the production process can still fail during the manufacturing stage. Even if reasonable steps are taken to ensure quality control, the manufacturer is still responsible for the consumer’s injuries if, for example, the product is missing a critical part necessary for safe use, has a weak area or a crack, or is otherwise flawed.

Manufacturers that produce products which include manufacturing defects are subject to a strict liability standard. In other words, no matter what precautions the manufacturer took to insure the safety of the consumer during the production process, they are responsible for injuries caused by their product due to a manufacturing defect. By removing the issue of “fault”, this strict liability standard encourages greater investment in product safety measures by manufacturers, and allows the plaintiffs to succeed notwithstanding what would otherwise be difficult or insurmountable problems of proof.

Examples of products that are subject to manufacturing defect products liability lawsuits include swing sets whose chains have a cracked link, medication which is tainted by a poisonous substance, and vehicles whose seat belts are poorly attached and fail during an accident.

Inadequate Product Warnings or Instructions

It is possible for a product to be unsafe even when it has been properly designed and manufactured. Manufacturers and sellers of the product must take sufficient steps to avoid putting consumers at unreasonable risk for injury. This means that manufacturers must warn the consumer of any product dangers that are not obvious and provide proper instructions to ensure safe use of the product. Examples in which Manufacturers have failed take sufficient steps to warn consumers of product dangers and provide proper instructions to ensure safe use of a the product include situations involving smoke detectors, power tools, electrical equipment and other products.

If a sufficient product warning is placed in a clearly visible location and the consumer fails to read it, then the consumer is not typically eligible to receive compensation for his or her injuries from the manufacturer for failure to provide an adequate warning. However, if there is no warning present, or if the warning is difficult to see or unclear, then the consumer may have reasonable cause to pursue legal action against the manufacturer. In order to collect damages, the manufacturer's failure to provide an adequate warning in a clearly visible location must be the cause of the consumer's injuries.