Personal injury Library

What Are the Three Kinds of Defects in Product Liability Law?

When a consumer product malfunctions and people are hurt or killed as a result, any subsequent lawsuits against the manufacturer are typically a matter of product liability law. When you hear of product liability law, it's really just a catch-all phrase for specific legal arguments that are classified together. In reality, there are three types of defects that fall under this umbrella. So what are the three main types of defect in product liability law?

Answer: The types of defects under product liability law are design defects, manufacturing defects, and marketing defects.

In this article we will more specifically define each kind of defect, talk about ways to prove a product was defective, and talk about why it's important to hold manufacturers accountable for making and selling flawed products.

What Are Design Defects?

Generally speaking, design defects are ones in which the model or plan of a product are inherently flawed. Manufacturers are required by law to create products which are as safe as economically and technologically possible. The first step in doing that is to plot them out and re-think any unsafe elements. If the final design they send to production still poses an unreasonable risk of injury, then the manufacturer has breached its duty to consumers of the product.

Example: We wrote some time ago about many space heater models that were recalled because they overheated and either melted or caused fires, and unfortunately the recalls have kept coming since then. In fact, in November of 2024 over half a million units from a single brand were recalled after they reportedly caused several fires and at least one burn injury.

Considering how many different models of heater have been recalled, and how often those recalls go out, one might conclude they have unaddressed design flaws. Even with decades of time to refine and improve the devices to maximize their safe use, many companies still churn out models with foreseeable problems.

How Do I Prove a Product Had a Design Defect?

Proving a design defect typically requires showing that a product’s design was:

  1. unreasonably dangerous;
  2. that a better design was financially and technologically feasible; and
  3. that the defective design caused the plaintiff’s injuries.

Consider the heaters mentioned above: Because they can overheat and start fires, many designs include timers and temperature sensors to shut them off if they run too hot or too long. That's safer than models without either component, yet many companies don't include them because that would marginally drive up unit costs. Would it make them so expensive that they're financially impractical, though? I highly doubt it. And is it technologically feasible to add a timer and/or a sensor? Absolutely.

With that in mind, it seems like a product liability attorney could conceivably argue that a space heater which started a fire or melted and hurt someone had a defective design. If a jury agrees, the heater's manufacturer could be held strictly liable for the damage done to the consumer.

What Are Manufacturing Defects?

A manufacturing defect occurs when a product rolls off the line different from its intended design. That could be a car with improperly installed brakes, a tool box with poorly attached hinges, an electrical wire with loose connections, a cracked machine component, or a misprinted circuit board—essentially any issue that arises from a mistake during actual production rather than a flawed design.

Examples: There is no shortage of examples of manufacturing defects. Here are a few off the top of my head:

  • In the late 1990s, Firestone tire treads separated on hundreds of Ford vehicles, causing numerous crashes, over 500 injuries, and almost 250 deaths.
  • Inflator modules in Takata-brand airbags ruptured during bag deployment, creating flying metal shards that caused hundreds of injuries and 35 known fatalities. The defect led to a recall of over 100 million vehicles worldwide—the largest in history.
  • We've written several times in the past about various blender models whose blades broke or detached, causing serious finger and hand injuries as well as serious risk of sharp metal shards being swallowed in smoothies.

That's just three example of hundreds, maybe thousands, that companies have recalled for drastic errors. The number of recalls literally extends into the tens of thousands.

How Do I Prove a Product Had a Manufacturing Defect?

If a product malfunction hurt you and you believe a manufacturing defect was to blame, the first step is to gather every bit of evidence you can. That might include photographing the product (especially the part that malfunctioned) and any injuries or damage caused by the defect, as well as keeping records and medical bills related to the injury—and if at all possible, keeping the product itself. Many product liability cases require expert witnesses to examine the product to learn what malfunctioned and how. Those experts generally have the technical expertise to say whether the product was manufactured incorrectly, which can be helpful in convincing a jury that the defect was the proximate cause of the victim's injuries.

What Are Marketing Defects?

A marketing defect describes a manufacturer's failure to adequately instruct consumers on how to use a product, as well as providing enough information about the potential risks—both obvious and hidden—that someone might encounter during use. If a person gets hurt because a product doesn’t come with sufficient warnings or instructions, the manufacturer may be financially liable for damages that result.

Examples: There are many infamous cases where manufacturers failed to warn their users and the public about major hazards posed by their products, such as:

  • Asbestos: While there were stories about its ill effects even in ancient times, scientific research gradually uncovered that exposure to asbestos leads to serious lung issues—including a particularly nasty form of cancer called mesothelioma. Since asbestos was actively used in many industries for a long time, countless workers and consumers exposed to its lung-damaging fibers have sued various companies for failing to disclose its dangers.
  • Firearms: Some time ago, a consumer advocacy group successfully sued American gun manufacturer Remington Arms for access to a trove of corporate files and memos. Among all those papers were internal communications showing that Remington knew one of its rifles, the Model 700, was prone to misfires from something as simple as disengaging the safety or cycling a round. The company was allegedly aware that a trigger defect could make the gun go off unexpectedly, but failed to warn the many hunters and sportsmen who bought the Model 700. That failure to disclose the flaw led to several shooting injuries and the death of at least one child.

As with other kinds of defects, the list goes on and on. That's just a couple of high-profile cases, but everything from children's toys to vehicles to medications have their dirty secrets. When their failure to disclose crucial information is finally uncovered, the people hurt by their negligence should have a chance to hold them properly accountable.

How Do I Prove a Product Had Defective Marketing?

Certain key factors must be proven to establish that a manufacturer, distributor, or retailer failed to warn users of a product's hazards. Here are the most important factors a product liability attorney would need to demonstrate to a jury:

  • The Product Had Inherent Risks - Show that the product posed a danger that was not obvious or readily apparent to the average user. For example, a chemical cleaner might be particularly dangerous if inhaled or mixed with other substances.
  • The Manufacturer Knew or Should Have Known of the Risk - Establish that the manufacturer was aware—or reasonably should have been aware—of the potential danger associated with the product. This is often shown through paper trails like internal documents, testing reports, adverse incident histories, or industry standards.
  • The Warning Was Inadequate or Absent - Prove that the product lacked proper warnings, labels, or instructions to inform users of the risk. Warnings must be clear, visible, and sufficiently detailed to convey the danger and how to avoid it.
  • The Lack of Warning Was the Cause of the Injury - Show a causal link between the inadequate warning and the harm suffered. If a consumer was hurt because they didn't know about a potential hazard that should have been disclosed, that establishes causation.
  • The Product Was Being Used as Intended or in a Foreseeable Manner - Demonstrate that the injured party was using the product in a way that was intended—or at the very least, their alternate or improper use was reasonably foreseeable.

Evidence to support a victim's marketing defect argument might include the product's warning labels, instructions, expert testimony on industry standards, internal communications from the manufacturer, and any documentation of similar incidents involving the product. It’s also important to check if the warning complied with regulatory requirements, as noncompliance can strengthen a claim.

Grossman Law Can Help

To be clear, almost no product liability lawsuit is simple. Any time an injury forces an individual to square off with a company, that person is almost guaranteed to face an opponent with far greater resources and a defense attorney (or six) on retainer. Depending on the nature of the product's defect and the damage it caused, its maker stands to lose a lot if they're found liable—so they'll fight tooth and nail to keep that from happening.

That's why it can be of great help to have an experienced product liability attorney on your side. The lawyers at Grossman Law Offices have decades of experience helping people injured by defective products build and win cases against negligent manufacturers. If you or someone you love were hurt by a defective and dangerous product, contact Grossman Law today for a free and confidential consultation.

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