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Home » Consumer Information » Defective Products

Manufacturing vs. Design Defects

If someone is injured by a defective product, they may have grounds to sue the manufacturer depending on what type of defect is present. The two primary categories of product defects include design defects and manufacturing defects. Knowing the difference between the two is essential to understand how a product liability case works and whether the claimant can demonstrate burden of proof. A manufacturing defect is one that occurs during fabrication that only affects a tiny fraction of a product line. However, a design defect is a flaw in the original blueprint of a product that causes it to be unreasonably dangerous and affects the entire product line.

Manufacturing defects

In product liability cases, it needs to be determined if the product responsible for inflicting harm upon its user was defectively designed or defectively manufactured. This can be figured out by concluding if the defect was planned or unplanned. When every sample of a particular piece of merchandise is found to be defective, this signifies that the defect originated in the product design documents, which were planned. Conversely, a manufacturing defect exists when a minor segment of the product inventory that was produced according to plan contains a defect; this is obviously unplanned.

Manufacturing defects, which are caused by some error in assembly, are not intended to be part of the product. Based on the statute of strict liability, a manufacturer is still liable for any manufacturing defects that occur as a result of faulty construction, regardless of whether they took painstaking care throughout the whole process. The principle of strict liability is to promote product safety among manufacturers.

The plaintiff involved in a manufacturing defect case needs to prove that the defect allegedly responsible for their injury was present at the time of departure from the factory where the good was produced—not something could’ve been caused by wear and tear after the fact. As a result, strict liability makes it easier on the plaintiff because it relieves them of having to provide evidence of a manufacturer’s negligence.

Design defects

A design defect is an imperfection birthed from the product’s initial plans that creates a hazard for potential users. A pair of tests will establish whether a product features a substandard design. First, it must be determined whether a product’s design was unreasonably dangerous prior to production. If so, the product is defective. A second test must prove that a product is defective if it was plausible to anticipate its design could harm a user.

For example, consider that a person injured in an auto accident sues the car manufacturer, claiming the vehicle was defective because its poor design causes it to explode upon impact at a certain velocity. Some courts may dispute on the basis that the car’s design was not dangerous because it is the act of crashing itself which causes the driver harm. On the other hand, other courts may view the car as defective because it was reasonably predictable that the driver could be involved in a crash at that level of speed. In turn, they will suggest that it is the manufacturer’s responsibility to devise a plan with such mishaps in mind.

In the majority of defective design cases, the claimant will explain that the manufacturer could have utilized a superior design with higher safety standards. Manufacturers, wholesalers, and distributors are liable for goods with unreliable designs or manufacturing defects. If a product is responsible for injuring its user, that person could be entitled to damage awards according to product liability and/or negligence laws.