Design Defect vs. Manufacturing Defect: Choosing Your Theory
Not every bad product fails the same way. And if you pick the wrong theory, the defense will make you chase your tail.
The core question in a Nevada product case is simple: “Was the product dangerously designed, or did this particular unit come off the line wrong?”
Choose correctly, and you turn “accident” into strict liability.
At Mainor Ellis Injury Lawyers, we help injured consumers pick the right theory and ensure they get the maximum compensation they deserve.
Types of Defects of Product Liability Cases
When suing a manufacturer in a product liability case, you have to choose one of the three theories of liability to pursue damages:
- Manufacturing defect: The design is fine, but your unit deviated from the blueprint. That could be wrong material, bad weld, misassembly, contamination. Think “one bad apple” (or one bad batch).
- Design defect: The entire model line is unreasonably dangerous as sold. Even a perfectly built unit is unsafe because the design choices create excessive risk.
- Failure to warn/instruct: The product needed clearer warnings or safer instructions. It often travels with design claims but is a different theory.
Strict products liability is alive and well in Nevada. State law adopted it to protect consumers harmed by defective products. It means you don’t have to prove the manufacturer was “careless” — only that the product was defective and caused your injuries.
The Rules of Suing for Product Defects
Who can you sue? Everyone in the chain of distribution, including the manufacturer, distributor, and retailer, can be strictly liable.
Comparative fault still applies. If the defense claims misuse or alteration, Nevada’s modified comparative negligence rule (NRS 41.141) can reduce damages but generally won’t bar recovery unless the plaintiff is more than 50% at fault.
And timing matters. Personal injury claims in Nevada are generally subject to a two‑year statute of limitations (NRS 11.190(4)(e)). Evidence disappears fast, so consider contacting a Las Vegas product defect injury lawyer early.
How to Tell Design from Manufacturing
Whether you have a case of design defect or manufacturing defect comes down to these three variables:
- Pattern vs. one‑off: Many similar incidents, recalls across the product line, or safety bulletins pointing to the “way it’s built”? That’s design. A specific lot number, shift, plant, or component supplier tied to failures? Likely manufacturing.
- Exemplar testing: Your unit fails; exemplars built to spec don’t: manufacturing. Your unit and exemplars perform the same — and all are unsafe: design.
- Fixability: A reasonable alternative design (RAD) exists (that’s guard, interlock, different geometry, safer materials) without killing the product’s utility: strong design case. No design change needed, just build it to the spec you already had: manufacturing.
To establish the defects, you will need the product itself, the documentation like blueprints and bills of materials, testing and teardown analysis, exemplar acquisition, and many more.
Common Defenses Used in Product Liability Cases
Strict liability doesn’t mean automatic liability. Expect the manufacturer to use all kinds of defenses, including these common ones:
- “Misuse” or “alteration”: Foreseeable misuse doesn’t let a manufacturer off the hook. We show the use was predictable or that safer alternative designs would have prevented the harm.
- “State of the art”: Not a shield if a reasonable safer design existed at the time. We dig up competitor designs and standards to prove it did.
- “Learned intermediary” (drugs/devices): Warnings to doctors must still be adequate and not misleading; design issues can remain independent of warnings.
- “We met standards”: Compliance helps them, but it’s not dispositive. Standards are minimums, not maximum safety.
When manufacturers hide behind defenses instead of safety, Mainor Ellis Injury Lawyers turns their arguments into your leverage.
Hurt by a Defective Product? Get Legal Help Now
If a defective product hurt you or your family, don’t guess at the theory. Choose the one that wins. Contact Mainor Ellis Injury Lawyers for a free consultation to discuss the facts of your case. Call at 702-450-5000 to talk now.
