When it comes to how courts in Texas attribute fault based on negligence, the law refers to the allegorical “reasonable person” as the standard of whether the defendant can be held liable for your injury. Even though the reasonable person is an artificial construct and not an actual person, he or she will be a key part of building your case against the person you are filing suit against.
It also stands to reason that in addition to holding the defendant to the standard of a reasonable person, you should also try to emulate that mythical individual’s behavior yourself in order to maximize your possible award of damages. But sometimes, no matter how reasonable you are, there is little that you can do to avoid being harmed. This is especially true when it comes to claims of products liability.
Let’s take driving a car as an example. When you get behind the wheel you are sober, you avoid distractions, and you diligently pay attention to traffic signals, other vehicles and pedestrians. You are “poster child” of the reasonable person.
But what if your brakes fail? What if your accelerator gets stuck? What if your airbag suddenly deploys for no reason? You can still suffer harm no matter how careful you try to be. And this is one way that you can become a victim of products liability.
When a product does not work the way it should, and you suffer injury as a result, you may have a solid cause of action against the manufacturer of that item for defects in how it was designed or built. Sometimes this liability can be “strict” in nature; sometimes you may have to prove that the defendant did not uphold its obligation to act reasonably toward you. When it comes to establishing the appropriate basis of liability in a products liability action, we at Ted B. Lyon & Associates have the knowledge and experience to help you to build the strongest possible case for settlement or trial.
To learn more about how we can help you in a products liability matter, we recommend that you start with our webpage on the topic, where in addition to more information you can also find out how to contact us to schedule an initial no-cost appointment with one of our attorneys to discuss and evaluate your claim.
