Houston Defective Product Lawyer

Most injury claims require proof that someone was careless. Products liability is different. Under Texas law — governed largely by Chapter 82 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code and Texas common law — a manufacturer can be held strictly liable when it places a defective product into the stream of commerce and that defect causes injury. You generally do not have to prove the company was sloppy or knew about the problem; you have to prove the product was defective, the defect made it unreasonably dangerous, and the defect caused your injury while the product was being used in a reasonably foreseeable way.

That is a powerful legal tool, but it is not a simple one. Manufacturers defend these cases aggressively, often arguing that the product was misused, modified after it left the factory, or worn out. Building the case usually means engineering analysis, testing, and qualified technical testimony — which is exactly why preserving the product in its post-incident condition matters so much.

Texas law recognizes three defect theories, and many cases involve more than one. A manufacturing defect means something went wrong when this particular unit was made — it left the factory different from its own design and more dangerous because of it. Think of a batch of airbag inflators with a flawed weld, a ladder with a void in the metal, or a contaminated lot of medication. The design was fine; your unit wasn't.

A design defect means the product was built exactly as intended, but the design itself is unreasonably dangerous — and a safer alternative design existed that was economically and technologically feasible. Examples include an SUV design prone to rollover, a table saw sold without an available blade-stopping safety mechanism, a space heater without a tip-over shutoff, or a child's toy with small parts that detach.

A marketing defect — often called failure to warn — means the product lacked adequate warnings or instructions about dangers the manufacturer knew or should have known about. A medication that omits a serious interaction risk, a power tool manual that never mentions a kickback hazard, or a cleaning product without proper ventilation warnings can all support this theory. We see these defect types across vehicles and airbags, household appliances, power tools, children's products, medical devices, and prescription drugs.

The primary defendant in a Texas products case is almost always the manufacturer — the company that designed, made, or assembled the product or its defective component. That can include foreign manufacturers, component-part makers, and companies that put their brand name on products built by someone else.

Retailers and distributors who merely sold the product are treated differently. Under Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 82.003, a non-manufacturing seller is generally not liable unless specific exceptions apply — for example, the seller altered or modified the product, installed it improperly, made its own independent representations about safety, actually knew of the defect at the time of sale, or the manufacturer is insolvent or beyond the reach of Texas courts. Identifying every responsible party early matters, especially when a manufacturer is overseas or out of business — and it is one of the first things we investigate in every case.

Products cases carry two separate clocks. The first is the familiar one: in most cases you have two years from the date of injury to file suit (Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.003). The second is less well known and less forgiving: Texas's statute of repose for products liability, Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.012, generally bars claims filed more than 15 years after the date the product was first sold — no matter when the injury happened. A defect in a 16-year-old machine can cause a very real injury and still leave no products claim, subject to limited exceptions such as an express warranty of a longer safe life.

The practical takeaway: the age of the product matters, and the two-year clock starts running immediately. Evidence disappears fast — the product gets discarded, the scene gets cleaned up, and purchase records get lost. Talking to a lawyer early costs you nothing and protects both deadlines. (This page is general information, not legal advice about your specific deadline.)

Clients often ask whether a recall makes or breaks the case. Neither. A recall can be helpful evidence — it tends to show the manufacturer had notice of the problem — but you do not need a recall to bring a claim, and an existing recall does not automatically win one or bar one. Plenty of dangerous products are never recalled, and a recall notice you never received does not erase the manufacturer's responsibility.

What actually decides these cases is the product itself. Do not repair it. Do not alter it. Do not throw it away. Do not return it to the store or hand it to the manufacturer's investigator. Store it somewhere safe, exactly as it was after the incident, and keep everything that came with it — receipts, packaging, manuals, warranty cards, and any registration or purchase emails. Photograph the product, your injuries, and the scene.

Then contact us. RK LAW will arrange proper preservation of the evidence, identify every responsible company, and bring in the engineers and medical professionals your case needs. The consultation is free, we are available 24/7, and you pay no fee unless we win.