Most people know that if they're injured by a product, they can sue the manufacturer. It's all well and good to know you have the right to file a lawsuit, but the goal of any lawsuit is to win. In order to win, your attorney must make your case in front of the jury. This raises the question, "What does an attorney have to prove in an vehicle product liability lawsuit?"

Answer: A product liability attorney must show 1) that the victim suffered notable damages from the defective product, 2) that the vehicle which hurt them was defective in some way, 3) that the vehicle or part manufacturer knew or should have known about the defect , and 4) that the defect caused the victim's injuries.

Let's look more closely at each step of that process.

1. The Victim Suffered Actual Damages

Actual damages is a term defining serious, measurable harm that can be quantified with a monetary value. We wrote a longer article about the different damages a victim might seek, but here are a few to give you an idea:

• Medical bills and future medical expenses
• Lost wages and reduced earning capacity
• Pain and suffering
• Property damage like vehicle repair or replacement

That's not to say that a car accident isn't traumatic unless you're injured—far from it. It's only that personal injury lawsuits typically require provable losses caused by the defendant. If there is no demonstrable loss, or the damage done is negligible, it's unlikely the case will get very far. Once damages are established, however, it's time to prove the rest.

2. The Vehicle or Part Had a Defect

The first step in any products liability case, including one involving a vehicle, is to establish that the vehicle or one or more of its parts were defective, and as a result were unreasonably dangerous.

There are three main types of defects an attorney might point to. Again, we addressed these in more detail in another article, but here's a summary:

• Design Defect: The defect is inherent in the vehicle’s design, making it dangerous even when manufactured correctly. The Ford Pinto is an infamous example of defective design, as the placement of its gas tank made it prone to fires and explosions when the car was rear-ended.
• Manufacturing Defect: The defect occurred due to a mistake in the production process, affecting only certain vehicles or parts. The GM ignition switch recall a few years ago is an example, as it contained a part not strong enough to resist the pull of a heavy or jiggled keyring. If the part failed, it shut off the vehicle's engine—clearly a big problem for someone already in motion.
• Marketing Defect (Failure to Warn): The manufacturer misrepresented the vehicle somehow, most often by failing to properly warn consumers about known dangers associated with the vehicle or part. The most egregious example of that in recent history may be that of Takata Corporation, which downplayed and covered up a flaw that made many of its signature airbags explode with metal shrapnel during auto accidents.

3. The Manufacturer Knew/Should Have Known about the Defect

An attorney can't just accuse the manufacturer of making a crummy vehicle or part and call it a day. To prove the company was negligent, the attorney will also have to show that they knew or reasonably should have known about the problem.

That may sound like it circles back to failure to warn, but it's not quite the same thing. For one thing, the attorney has to show that the defect was present when the product left the manufacturer. If it turns out the vehicle or part was just damaged by after-marketing tinkering or misuse, there's no case.

To prove that the product was defective from the start, attorneys need to find evidence showing the manufacturer knew about it and chose not to fix it, or they had no idea they were making a dud and were as surprised as anyone else when it started causing harm. The best way to figure out if either scenario happened is with a paper trail—things like internal documents, recall notices, expert analysis, and consumer complaint records.

4. The Defect Directly Caused the Victim's Injury

This is generally called causation, meaning the defendant's action or inaction (e.g. making a defective vehicle) was directly responsible for the victim's accident and the injuries that followed.

Defense attorneys may argue that other factors, like driver inattention or hazardous roads, were actually the proximate cause of the damage. Not only must a plaintiff's attorney shut that down by showing the defect was the proximate cause; they also have to prove that the victim's injuries were a foreseeable consequence of that defect.

Let's use the auto defects we mentioned earlier as examples: When Ford designed the Pinto, did its engineers consider what might happen if a thinly-protected gas tank got directly hit by another car? It seems not, but should they have? Absolutely. What about Takata? Did they think about what could happen if their airbag inflators exploded and fragmented near a driver? Since they covered up the hazards, it seems they knew but chose not to do anything about it.

In both those scenarios, the defect that went unaddressed by the manufacturer directly caused tremendous harm—and their lawyers couldn't blame something besides exploding gas tanks and flying metal shards.

What Evidence Does an Attorney Use to Prove These Cases?

Legal dramas on TV may lead some people to think lawyers only need a dramatic speech or a winning smile to sway a jury, but that's not how the law works. Any plaintiff's attorney worth their necktie knows that evidence, as clear and plentiful as possible, is crucial. That's particularly true in auto liability cases, since a jury must be convinced that the defective vehicle or part was the true cause of the victim's injuries—and the defense will muddy the waters the best they can to introduce doubt about that.

To build a strong vehicle products liability case, an attorney may rely on:

• Expert Testimony: Attorneys are typically able to hire engineers, accident reconstruction specialists, and automotive safety experts to analyze the defect and testify about its contribution to a crash.
• Internal Company Records: Emails, memos, and reports could show the manufacturer knew about the defect and decided not to take action. People would be surprised how often consumer watchdog groups find such documents in a company's files.
• Recall Notices: A history of recalls, both for the specific vehicle or part and from the manufacturer in general, can strengthen arguments that either the defect was known or the automaker has a clear history of releasing faulty goods.
• Consumer Complaints: While not necessarily the strongest form of evidence, lots of complaints about similar vehicle problems could be a sign of a common denominator like a defect.
• Crash Data & Black Box Evidence: If an expert is hired to read and interpret it, data from a vehicle's event recorder can tell a compelling story about what exactly went wrong and why.

Grossman Law Is Here to Help

Hopefully this article illustrates what an undertaking it can really be to prove that a vehicle or part defect caused an auto accident. Everything is written in the context of what an attorney must prove because frankly trying to go it alone, while not prohibited, isn't likely to go well. Not only do most people not know the rules of evidence like an experienced attorney does, but very few have connections to experts for crucial analysis and testimony. What's worse, a vehicle liability case means squaring off with major auto manufacturers who typically have gung-ho corporate defense attorneys, all set to poke whatever holes they can in a lawsuit.

That's why having an experienced product liability attorney in your corner can make a world of difference. The Texas lawyers at Grossman Law Offices have decades of experience going toe-to-toe with automakers and other manufacturers—and teaching them a harsh lesson about where their priorities should lie. If you were injured or lost a loved one because of a suspected vehicle malfunction or defect, contact Grossman Law today for a free and confidential consultation. Our attorneys are available 24/7 to assist you.