When a Product That Was Supposed to Help You Causes Serious Harm
You trusted the product to work safely when used as intended or in a reasonably foreseeable way.
It may have been a vehicle component, industrial machine, power tool, household appliance, children’s product, medical device, or another item you relied on at home or work. Instead of performing safely, the product failed and caused an injury that may affect your health, ability to work, finances, and daily life.
Product liability cases can be different from ordinary personal injury claims. The investigation may involve a manufacturer, component supplier, assembler, distributor, installer, or retailer. Each company may have its own insurer, attorneys, engineers, and technical consultants working to limit its responsibility.
Determining what happened may require answering questions such as:
- How was the product designed?
- Was it manufactured according to its specifications?
- Did an individual component fail?
- Were adequate warnings and instructions provided?
- Was the product altered, repaired, or maintained after it was sold?
- Which company controlled the part of the process that caused the injury?
At Herrera PLLC, Jonathan Herrera represents people in Houston and throughout Texas who have suffered serious injuries involving defective or unreasonably dangerous products.
Before representing injured people, Jonathan spent more than a decade as a licensed insurance adjuster handling high-exposure property and casualty claims. He later practiced insurance defense before founding Herrera PLLC.
That experience gives him firsthand knowledge of how insurers and corporate defendants evaluate serious injury claims, examine technical evidence, develop defenses, and attempt to reduce what they pay.
Personal Commitment. Proven Experience.
Learn more about Jonathan Herrera’s insurance and legal background.
What Is a Product Liability Claim?
A product liability claim may arise when a defective or unreasonably dangerous product causes personal injury, death, or property damage.
Depending on the facts, the case may involve strict product liability, negligence, breach of warranty, misrepresentation, or more than one legal theory.
The fact that someone was injured while using a product does not automatically establish that the product was defective. Evidence must connect a legally recognized defect or wrongful act to the injury.
Product defect cases generally fall into three primary categories.
Manufacturing Defects
A manufacturing defect may occur when something goes wrong while a product or component is being made.
The individual product that caused the injury may differ from its intended design or from other units made according to the correct specifications.
Examples may include:
- A missing fastener or safety component
- An improperly assembled machine
- Contaminated or incorrectly formulated material
- A weakened, cracked, or misshapen component
- Defective bonding in a tire
- Faulty internal wiring in an electrical product
The investigation may compare the failed product with design specifications, manufacturing records, quality-control requirements, and similar units.
Design Defects
A design defect may exist when a product was manufactured as intended, but the design itself created an unreasonable risk of injury.
Texas law generally requires more than showing that another design might have been preferable. A design-defect claim typically requires evidence that a safer alternative design existed and that the alleged defect was a producing cause of the injury.
The proposed alternative design generally must have been technologically and economically feasible when the product left the manufacturer’s control. It must also have been capable of preventing or significantly reducing the risk without substantially impairing the product’s usefulness.
Design-defect investigations may consider:
- Whether a practical safer design was available
- Whether it could have been produced using existing technology
- Whether its cost was reasonable
- Whether it would have prevented or reduced the injury
- Whether the product’s usefulness justified the remaining risk
These issues frequently require engineers, industry specialists, medical professionals, or other qualified experts.
Marketing Defects and Failure to Warn
A marketing defect may involve inadequate instructions, missing safety information, or a failure to warn about a danger associated with the product.
The question is not simply whether the product had any warning. The investigation may consider:
- Whether the warning identified the relevant danger
- Whether it appeared where a user was likely to see it
- Whether the language was understandable
- Whether the instructions explained how to reduce the risk
- Whether the danger was already obvious to an ordinary user
- Whether an adequate warning would likely have changed the user’s conduct or prevented the injury
A company may argue that the user ignored a warning, misused the product, or encountered an open and obvious danger. The product, packaging, labels, manuals, and circumstances of use should be reviewed before accepting that conclusion.
What Products Commonly Lead to Defect Claims?
Almost any consumer or commercial product can cause serious harm when it contains a legally actionable defect.
Products commonly involved in these investigations include:
- Motor vehicles and vehicle components
- Tires, brakes, airbags, and seatbelts
- Industrial and construction machinery
- Forklifts, lifts, presses, and cutting equipment
- Power tools and hand tools
- Household appliances
- Electrical products and batteries
- Furniture and consumer goods
- Children’s products, cribs, and toys
- Medical devices
- Prescription and over-the-counter medicines
- Safety equipment and protective devices
Prescription-drug and medical-device claims may involve additional Texas and federal rules concerning regulatory approval, warnings, causation, and product-specific defenses.
The location of the incident does not necessarily determine whether a product liability case exists. A defective product may cause harm at home, at work, in a vehicle, at a construction site, or in another setting.
Learn more about Herrera PLLC’s representation of people facing life-changing harm on the Serious Injuries page.
Who May Be Responsible for a Defective Product Injury?
Responsibility depends on the nature of the defect and the role each company played in designing, manufacturing, assembling, installing, distributing, or selling the product.
Potentially relevant parties may include:
- The manufacturer of the finished product
- A manufacturer of a defective component
- A company involved in designing the product
- The company that assembled it
- An installer or maintenance provider
- A wholesaler or distributor
- A retailer or another seller
Not every company connected to the product is automatically responsible.
Texas law generally limits product liability claims against nonmanufacturing sellers unless a statutory exception applies. Relevant exceptions may involve a seller’s participation in the design, alteration or installation of the product, express factual representations, substantial control over warnings, actual knowledge of a defect, or other circumstances recognized by law.
Some parties may be evaluated under product liability law, while others may be responsible under separate negligence theories involving installation, inspection, repair, or maintenance.
Identifying the correct parties may require examining purchase records, serial numbers, component markings, contracts, service records, distribution documents, and corporate relationships.
The company whose name appears on the product may not have manufactured every component. A retailer may have had no role in the defect, while an installer, repair company, or component supplier may have contributed directly to the failure.
A proper investigation should determine what each party did before deciding who may be legally responsible.
Why Is Preserving the Product Important?
The product itself may be the most important evidence in the case.
It may show how a component fractured, whether a connection failed, whether a guard was missing, whether a safety feature activated, or whether the product was altered after leaving the manufacturer.
A company may argue that the product was misused, poorly maintained, modified, damaged after the incident, or examined in a way that destroyed important evidence.
Potentially relevant evidence may include:
- The product and all detached or broken components
- Packaging, labels, instructions, and warnings
- Receipts, invoices, and purchase records
- Model, lot, and serial numbers
- Photographs and videos of the product and scene
- Maintenance and repair records
- Prior complaints or service communications
- Clothing and protective equipment
- Medical records documenting the injury
- Contact information for witnesses
The product generally should not be discarded, returned, repaired, disassembled, or tested without considering how that action could affect the case.
Destructive testing or disassembly may need to be postponed until relevant parties have received proper notice and a fair inspection procedure has been established.
Safety comes first. A damaged battery, electrical device, pressurized container, machine, or other hazardous product should not be handled or stored in a way that puts anyone at further risk. Qualified professionals may need to help preserve or secure the item.
How Do Manufacturers and Insurers Defend Product Claims?
Manufacturers, sellers, and their insurers may argue that:
- The product was not defective
- It complied with relevant regulations or standards
- The user misused it
- Someone altered it after sale
- Maintenance was inadequate
- An appropriate warning was provided
- The danger was open and obvious
- Another person or company caused the incident
- The injury resulted from a preexisting medical condition
- The product can no longer be inspected in its post-incident condition
Compliance with a regulation or industry standard may be relevant, but it does not necessarily resolve every issue. The actual design, manufacturing process, warnings, product history, and circumstances of the failure may still require investigation.
Corporate defendants may retain experts quickly and request access to the product before the injured person understands its importance.
An early investigation can help document the product’s condition, preserve the incident scene, identify witnesses, obtain records, and establish a reasonable inspection process.
What If the Product Injured You at Work?
A workplace injury may involve more than one legal and insurance system.
Depending on the circumstances, an injured employee may have access to workers’ compensation benefits or another employer-related remedy while also having a separate claim against a third party, such as:
- A product manufacturer
- A component supplier
- An equipment distributor
- An outside installer
- A repair or maintenance company
- Another contractor at the worksite
Texas workers’ compensation law may limit claims directly against a subscribing employer, but it does not necessarily prevent a case against an independently responsible third party.
Workers’ compensation insurers may also claim reimbursement or subrogation rights against money recovered from a third party. The benefits claim and the product liability case should therefore be evaluated together.
The fact that the injury happened at work does not determine whether the equipment was defective or whether another company may be responsible.
What Injuries Can Defective Products Cause?
A product failure can cause severe and permanent harm, including:
- Traumatic brain injuries
- Spinal cord injuries
- Burns and electrical injuries
- Crush injuries
- Amputations
- Severe fractures
- Organ damage
- Nerve and tendon injuries
- Eye injuries or vision loss
- Toxic exposure
- Scarring and disfigurement
- Fatal injuries
The complete effect of the injury may not be known immediately. Future surgery, rehabilitation, assistive equipment, reduced earning ability, home modifications, and long-term personal care may need to be considered.
What Compensation May Be Available?
The compensation available depends on the injuries, evidence, legal theories, responsible parties, insurance coverage, and other case-specific facts.
A product liability case may seek compensation for qualifying losses such as:
- Past and future medical expenses
- Lost income
- Reduced earning capacity
- Physical pain
- Mental anguish
- Physical impairment
- Disfigurement
- Property damage
- Other legally recoverable losses
When a defective product causes a death, qualifying family members or the estate may have separate claims under Texas law.
No outcome can be guaranteed. The potential value of a case should be based on the evidence and the full effect of the injury rather than an early estimate from an insurer or corporate defendant.
How Long Do You Have to Bring a Product Liability Claim in Texas?
Texas generally applies a two-year filing period to many personal injury claims, but the correct deadline and the date on which it begins depend on the particular claim and facts.
Texas also has a separate product liability statute of repose. It generally prevents certain claims against a manufacturer or seller more than 15 years after that defendant sold the product, subject to statutory exceptions, including some longer written warranties.
The ordinary limitations period and the statute of repose are different rules. A claim may become time-barred under the shorter limitations period long before the repose period becomes relevant.
The deadline analysis may depend on:
- When the injury occurred
- When the legal claim accrued
- The injured person’s age and whether a recognized tolling rule applies
- When the defendant sold the product
- Whether a longer written warranty applies
- The identity of the defendant
- The product and legal theory involved
- Other statutory exceptions
Prompt review is important even when the filing deadline may be months or years away. The product can be lost or repaired, video may be overwritten, records may be discarded, witnesses may become difficult to locate, and the incident scene may change.
Why Work With Herrera PLLC?
Product liability cases often require an attorney to understand technical evidence while anticipating how manufacturers, corporate defendants, and insurers will build their defenses.
Jonathan Herrera understands that process from both sides.
Before founding Herrera PLLC, Jonathan spent more than a decade as a licensed insurance adjuster handling high-exposure claims. He founded and operated JH Claims LLC, a multi-state adjusting company, and later represented insurers as a defense attorney.
He now uses that experience to represent injured people.
Jonathan maintains a selective caseload so he can personally understand the client, the product, the injuries, and the evidence. Your case will not be moved among numerous attorneys or managed primarily by a paralegal.
When you work with Herrera PLLC:
- You communicate directly with Jonathan Herrera
- Your case receives individual attention
- The product and surrounding evidence are examined carefully
- Potentially responsible companies are evaluated before conclusions are made
- Corporate and insurance defenses are anticipated early
- The full effect of the injury on your life is considered
Learn more about the direct representation clients receive from Herrera PLLC.
Speak With a Houston Product Defect Injury Lawyer
A defective product injury can leave you facing medical treatment, missed work, financial pressure, uncertainty about the future, and questions the manufacturer or insurer may not answer voluntarily.
You do not need to determine the precise defect or identify every responsible company before speaking with an attorney.
Herrera PLLC offers free, confidential consultations with no obligation. Personal injury matters are handled on a contingency-fee basis, meaning no attorney’s fees are owed unless compensation is recovered.
Subject to the representation agreement, Herrera PLLC advances case-related expenses and is reimbursed only if compensation is recovered.
Call 832-891-3210 or email jherrera@jh-lawpllc.com to speak directly with Jonathan Herrera about a serious injury involving a potentially defective product.
Frequently Asked Questions
The required proof depends on whether the claim involves a manufacturing defect, design defect, inadequate warning, negligence, breach of warranty, misrepresentation, or another legal theory. The evidence generally must connect a legally actionable defect or wrongful act to the injury.
No. Determining why a product failed may require inspection, testing, document review, and qualified experts. Preserving the product and related evidence is often more important than reaching an immediate conclusion.
Returning the product may affect important evidence. Before surrendering, repairing, disassembling, or discarding it, consider obtaining legal guidance. Do not handle or store a dangerous item in a way that puts anyone at further risk.
Possibly, but Texas law generally limits claims against a seller that did not manufacture the product unless a statutory exception applies. The retailer’s role in the design, warnings, installation, alterations, representations, or knowledge of the alleged defect may need to be examined.
Possibly. A workplace injury may involve workers’ compensation or another employer-related remedy while also supporting a third-party claim against a manufacturer, seller, installer, repair company, or another responsible business. Benefit payments and reimbursement rights should be evaluated alongside the third-party case.
Misuse or modification may become an important defense, but the allegation should be tested against the product’s condition, foreseeable uses, warnings, maintenance history, witness accounts, and technical evidence.
No. A formal recall is not required. The product’s condition, design information, warnings, technical evidence, prior incidents, and circumstances of the injury may be more important than whether a recall has been announced.
Yes. Jonathan Herrera personally handles each matter and communicates directly with clients rather than transferring primary responsibility through numerous attorneys and paralegals.