Defective Products and Products Liability in Texas
October 29th, 2008Who is responsible for injuries caused by defective or dangerous products?
“Product liability” is the term used to describe the area of law dealing with the liability of a company for injuries caused by a dangerous product. The Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code describes a product liability action as a lawsuit against a manufacturer or seller for injuries caused by a dangerous product. However, products liability can encompass sub parties to the manufacturer, such a subcontractors and designers. The theory of products liability is based on the proposition that the party best able to prevent injuries created by dangerous products should bear the financial brunt of any such injuries.
Based on the above proposition, Texas courts have held that even if multiple manufacturing companies are involved in the creation or design of a dangerous product, only those companies that are directly responsible for the dangerous characteristics of the dangerous consumer product. Likewise, if a dangerous product is manufactured or designed by duplicating another dangerous product or design without the owner’s permission, it’s most proper to hold the company that duplicated liable rather than hold liable the original design owner. Further, a manufacturer is responsible for any seller’s losses in products liability actions, such a verdicts or settlements, unless the seller was negligent or acted with intentional misconduct (e.g. negligently modifying or altering the product).
A product liability case can be rooted in common law negligence, strict liability, or breach of a Uniform Commercial Code (“UCC”) warranty. See our previous blog post on negligence per se for a brief discussion of common law negligence. Information about warranties under the Texas UCC can be found at the previous link. While a products liability claim based on negligence deals with degree of care used by the manufacturer or seller and whether any injuries were legally foreseeable, a claim rooted in strict liability does not. A strict product liability action succeeds or fails based on whether the product was unreasonably dangerous when it left the manufacturer. If you’ve been injured by a dangerous product, contact an experienced product liability attorney for a free consultation.