Texas Products Liability Act: An Overview
Texas common law has long established that a design defect occurs when a manufacturer produces a product in strict observation of its plans, but some aspect of that specific design construction renders the product unreasonably dangerous for its foreseeable use.
For example it would be a problem of design so that when you used a blender the blade shoots up from the bottom of the blender, cuts through the lid, and lacerates your hand. It's foreseeable that a consumer would place their hand on the lid to keep it in place as they utilized the blending feature, and the design should keep this from happening.
In this article, Texas products liability attorney Michael Grossman explains the Texas Products Liability Act and how it factors into a products liability lawsuit.
Questions Answered on This Page:
- What is the Texas Products Liability Act?
- How does the Texas Products Liability Act impact my injury case?
- What does the Texas Products Liability Act have to say about product defects?
Texas Products Liability Act
These elements established by Texas common law were further defined in 1993 when the Texas Products Liability Act was established.
In Section §82.005, Texas courts clarified some aspects of common law regarding design defects. It is the burden of the claimant to prove by a preponderance of the evidence that:
- There was a safer design alternative available;
- The defect was a producing cause of the personal injury, property damage, or death for which the claimant seeks recovery.
The section goes on to further explain what a safer alternative design means in regards to product design.
"Safer alternative design" means a product design other than the one actually used and that in reasonable probability:
- would have prevented or significantly reduced the risk of the claimants personal injury, property damages, or death without substantially impairing the product's utility, and
- was economically and technologically feasible at the time the products left the control of the manufacturer or seller by the application of existing or reasonably achievable scientific knowledge.
In other words, if through further research or common sense, a safer design would have been discovered, without causing an unreasonable increase in cost per product, it's likely that the design will be found defective by the court.
Call Grossman Law Offices
The attorneys at Grossman Law Offices have over 25 years of experience handling personal injury cases in the state of Texas. We've won literally thousands of personal injury cases and we know products liability well. If you think you have a possible claim, give us a call at (855) 326-0000 and we'll be happy to answer whatever questions you may have for free.
Other articles on products liability that may be helpful:
- How Do Seatbelt Defect Cases Work?
- Overview of Manufacturing Defects
- What Is the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA)?
