Every product you use — from the car you drive to the medications you take to the equipment used on job sites across Houston — carries an implicit promise that it was designed and manufactured safely. When a defective product injures you or kills a family member, Texas law holds the manufacturer, designer, and others in the supply chain responsible. At John K. Zaid & Associates, our Houston product liability attorneys have recovered millions of dollars for victims of dangerous and defective products.
Call us today at (281) 333-8959 for a free consultation. No fees unless we win.
Three Types of Product Defects Under Texas Law
Texas product liability law recognizes three distinct types of defects that can make a product unreasonably dangerous:
Manufacturing Defects
A manufacturing defect occurs when a product deviates from its intended design during the production process. The design itself may be safe, but a specific product was built incorrectly — a faulty weld on a vehicle component, a contaminated batch of medication, a tire that was not properly cured. Only the specific defective unit causes injury, not the entire product line.
Design Defects
A design defect means the entire product line is unreasonably dangerous because of how it was designed — even when manufactured exactly as intended. Under Texas law (§82.005), a product has a design defect if a plaintiff proves that a safer alternative design existed that would have reduced or eliminated the risk, was economically and technically feasible, and the failure to adopt that design caused the plaintiff’s injury. Design defect cases often involve automotive defects, defective medical devices, and industrial equipment.
Failure to Warn (Marketing Defects)
Even a well-designed and well-manufactured product can be defective if it reaches consumers without adequate warnings about its risks or instructions for safe use. Manufacturers must warn consumers about known risks that are not obvious to the average user. Common failure-to-warn cases involve prescription drugs with undisclosed side effects, household chemicals without proper hazard labeling, and power tools without adequate safety instructions.
Who Can Be Held Liable for a Defective Product in Texas?
Texas law allows injured consumers to pursue compensation from multiple parties in the product’s supply chain, including:
- The manufacturer — the company that designed and built the product bears primary responsibility
- Component part manufacturers — companies that made defective parts incorporated into a final product (e.g., a tire manufacturer whose tire was installed on a vehicle that rolled over)
- Product designers — engineering firms or design teams separate from the manufacturer
- Retailers and distributors — Under Texas Civil Practice & Remedies Code §82.003, retailers and non-manufacturing sellers are generally protected from liability unless: (1) they are the only entity in the supply chain subject to Texas jurisdiction, (2) they modified the product, (3) they knew of the defect, or (4) they provided installation instructions that caused the defect
Common Product Liability Cases in Houston
Houston’s heavy industrial base, massive port, and large population make it a hub for product liability claims of all types. Our attorneys handle cases involving:
Automotive and Vehicle Defects
Vehicle defects cause thousands of injuries every year. Common automotive defects include defective airbags (the largest vehicle recall in history involved Takata airbag inflators that could spray shrapnel), seatbelt failures, tire tread separation (particularly dangerous at highway speeds on Texas’s long interstate highways), defective accelerators, rollover-prone SUVs, and defective door latches. Black box data, engineering analysis, and NHTSA recall records are critical in these cases.
Defective Medical Devices
Medical devices — hip and knee implants, hernia mesh, transvaginal mesh, surgical staples, IUDs, pacemakers, spinal cord stimulators — are regulated by the FDA but frequently cause serious injuries when defectively designed or manufactured. These cases often proceed as mass tort litigation involving thousands of injured patients nationwide. Our firm monitors major medical device MDLs and evaluates whether Houston-area clients have viable claims.
Dangerous Drugs and Pharmaceuticals
Drug manufacturers who conceal known risks or fail to adequately warn prescribing physicians and patients can be held liable for injuries caused by their medications. Common defective drug cases include those involving blood thinners, diabetes medications, SSRI antidepressants, chemotherapy drugs, and weight loss medications with undisclosed cardiovascular risks.
Industrial and Oilfield Equipment
Houston’s petrochemical and energy industries rely on heavy equipment, pressure vessels, valves, drilling equipment, and power tools every day. When industrial equipment lacks adequate safety guards, operates unpredictably, or fails during normal use, the resulting injuries are often catastrophic — crushing injuries, burns, amputations, and death. Manufacturers of industrial equipment face strict standards for safety warnings and engineering controls.
Consumer Products
Defective consumer products — from recalled children’s toys to exploding lithium-ion batteries to faulty electrical appliances — cause injuries in homes throughout Houston. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) issues hundreds of recalls each year. If you were injured by a product that was later recalled, you may have a strong product liability claim.
Construction Equipment and Power Tools
Saws, nail guns, ladders, scaffolding systems, and heavy construction equipment must be designed with adequate safety features to protect operators from foreseeable misuse. When power tools and construction equipment lack proper guards, safety interlocks, or adequate warnings, the manufacturers can be held liable for resulting injuries.
Strict Liability vs. Negligence in Texas Product Liability Cases
Texas product liability law allows injured consumers to pursue claims under strict liability — meaning you do not have to prove the manufacturer was careless. You only need to show that the product was defective and the defect caused your injury. This is enormously important: large corporations with sophisticated quality control programs can still be liable if their product was unreasonably dangerous.
You may also pursue negligence claims — alleging the manufacturer failed to exercise reasonable care in design, testing, or manufacturing — and breach of warranty claims when the product failed to perform as represented.
Texas Product Liability Statute of Limitations
Under Texas Civil Practice & Remedies Code §16.003, product liability claims must generally be filed within two years of the date of injury or discovery of the defect. Texas also has a 15-year statute of repose (§16.012) for products — no claim can be brought more than 15 years after the product was first sold, with some exceptions.
Do not delay. Product liability cases often require early expert analysis of the defective product before it is repaired, discarded, or altered. Evidence preservation is critical.
Damages Available in a Texas Product Liability Case
- Medical expenses — past and future treatment costs caused by the defective product
- Lost wages and earning capacity — income lost during recovery and future earning capacity if injuries are permanent
- Pain and suffering — physical pain and emotional distress
- Disfigurement and impairment
- Wrongful death damages — when a defective product causes a fatality
- Punitive damages — Texas law (§41.003) allows punitive damages when a manufacturer acted with actual malice or gross negligence — important in cases where manufacturers concealed known risks from consumers
Frequently Asked Questions
What if the product was recalled after my injury?
A recall issued after your injury is strong evidence that the product was defective — the manufacturer or a regulatory agency (NHTSA, CPSC, FDA) determined the product was unsafe. You may still have a viable claim even if you received a recall notice but hadn’t yet been injured, or if you were injured before the recall was announced.
What if I modified the product before the injury?
Texas law (§82.004) may reduce or bar recovery if you substantially altered a product in a way that caused your injury and that modification was not reasonably foreseeable to the manufacturer. However, if the manufacturer’s defective design made the product dangerous even in its original condition, modifications that don’t relate to the defect typically won’t bar your claim.
Can I sue if the product I used was already old?
Generally yes, within the 15-year statute of repose. Texas provides a defense for manufacturers when a product was substantially modified after leaving their control, but simple age and normal wear do not automatically protect a manufacturer from liability for a defective design.
Do I need to keep the defective product?
Yes — preserving the defective product is critical. Do not repair it, return it, or throw it away. Store it exactly as it was at the time of injury if at all possible. If the product was destroyed in the accident, gather whatever physical evidence remains and photograph it immediately. Your attorney can send a formal litigation hold notice to prevent the manufacturer from destroying matching products or testing samples.
Contact Our Houston Product Liability Attorneys Today
Defective product cases require technical expertise, access to qualified engineering and medical experts, and the resources to take on large corporations and their insurers. At John K. Zaid & Associates, we have the experience and resources to level the playing field.
Call (281) 333-8959 for a free consultation, or contact us online. We serve clients throughout Houston, Pasadena, Pearland, Sugar Land, Baytown, Katy, The Woodlands, and all of Harris County. We work on contingency — no fee unless we recover compensation for you.