Texas product liability laws are based on the premise that manufacturers have superior knowledge of their products. They know of any hidden dangers or risks about those products– and how they should be used to provide consumers with a safe experience. Manufacturers that fail to provide reasonable product instructions or that fail to warn about a product’s known risks– will be strictly liable to consumers who are injured.
The Dallas product liability attorneys at Crowe Arnold & Majors LLP represent individuals who have suffered injuries from products that did not come with adequate warnings or risk notices. We fight back against manufacturers that neglect their obligation to warn consumers about foreseeable risks– or give inadequate safety instructions.
How does a manufacturer’s liability for “failure to warn” apply to foreseeable risks?
Texas law does not obligate manufacturers to warn consumers about a product’s open and obvious dangers. For example, a pack of matches poses the open and obvious risk of starting a fire. The boundary for what might be open and obvious, however, is not always clear.
Accordingly, manufacturers are required to provide clear and obvious labels on their products that identify known hazards. The language should include easy-to-understand instructions about how those hazards can be avoided. In this vein, electric power tools and appliances should include warnings about how a user can avoid electrical shocks. Flammable products should include notices about avoiding use near open flames.
You should promptly consult with a Dallas personal injury lawyer when a product that did not come with adequate warnings causes your injuries. Each product liability case presents its own set of unique facts and circumstances, and a knowledgeable and experienced lawyer will be best able to assess whether the product’s manufacturer failed to warn you about any foreseeable hazards.
Will a manufacturer be liable if a product was used other than for its intended purpose?
A critical question in many product liability lawsuits is whether a consumer used the product in a manner that could be predicted by the manufacturer. As with the question of whether a hazard is open and obvious, the issue of whether a manufacturer could predict how a consumer might misuse a product is frequently open to interpretation.
Because of this, manufacturers might err on the side of caution and provide warnings against dangers that have a very low probability of occurrence. Producers of consumer products are also increasingly liable for monitoring how their products are used or misused in internet challenges that go viral and encourage misuses of them.
What if a manufacturer’s warnings are not clear or apparent?
A manufacturer might provide a long list of hazards that are inherent in the uses and prospective misuses of a product. However, if that list is hidden or is not firmly attached to the product, the manufacturer might still be liable for a consumer’s injuries. Warnings should include clear language in bold print that points out dangers.
If those dangers are too difficult to define in writing, the manufacturer should include pictorial warnings. If the warning is specific to a particular feature of a product (e.g., a blade guard on a lawnmower that should not be removed), that warning should be firmly affixed– close to that feature.
Contact the Dallas Product Liability Attorneys at Crowe Arnold & Majors LLP for a free consultation
An individual injured by a product in Texas has the burden of showing that the product’s manufacturer failed to warn about known risks associated with it. The manufacturer will inevitably push back and claim that it provided adequate warnings. Further, they can claim that the user ignored them, or that the consumer suffered injuries due to using the product in ways that could not have been reasonably anticipated.
The product liability attorneys at Crowe Arnold & Majors LLP in Dallas represent consumers who have been harmed by products that did not come with adequate warnings. Please see our website or call us directly for a no-fee consultation about your opportunity to recover damages to compensate for your injuries.
Additional Resources:
- www.texas.gov: Liability in Tort, Products Liability. https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/CP/htm/CP.82.htm
