There have been many inventions and products over the years that help people in Texas with many different projects or actions. Some products are better than others, but overall life has become much easier because of these various products. Sometimes these products break though. This can be frustrating, but it can become a real big problem if the product causes an injury to the user. These injuries can be very serious and change a person’s life.
The government has an interest in keeping its citizens safe as well. So, the government sets certain safety standards for products. Generally, if these safety standards are followed, the people using the products should be safe. However, that is not always the case. If someone is injured because of an unsafe product, they may be able to receive compensation for the injury. In order to obtain this compensation, the victim may need to file a products liability lawsuit in civil court.
Once the lawsuit is started, the victim may need to rebut certain presumptions in order to be successful though. If the manufacturer followed the governmental safety requirements or the product went through a safety inspection prior to being sold, there is a presumption that the product is safe. The victim can rebut this presumption though and still recover compensation for their injuries.
In order to do this they must prove that the governmental safety standards or inspections were not adequate to ensure the public’s safety or that the manufacturer either withheld information from the government agency or misrepresented material information to the government agency.
Many products are unsafe and people are injured as a result. While there is a presumption that certain products are safe because they follow government regulations, even those manufacturers may need to compensate the victim if he or she is able to rebut the presumption. These are highly complex matters though and it is important to understand the legal requirements in order to ensure one is properly compensated.
Source: Texas State Legislature, “Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code Chapter 82” accessed on Mar. 7, 2017
