New Jersey Injury from a Product Design Defect

A New Jersey product is considered defective by design if it fails to perform as safely as an ordinary consumer would expect it to when used in an intended or reasonable manner. A product design defect can be assumed by New Jersey personal injury lawyers when there is a risk of danger inherent in the design that outweighs the benefits of design.

Whether the benefits of a product design outweigh its risks really comes down to you and your New Jersey personal injury lawyer considering the following:
  • The gravity of the danger posed by the design defect; the likelihood that such danger would cause damage
  • The mechanical feasibility of a safer alternate design at the time of manufacture
  • The financial cost of an improved design
  • And the adverse consequences to the product and the consumer that would result from an alternate design

When One is Not Liable


A manufacturer or seller of a New Jersey product is not liable for injuries or death caused by a product design defect, which existed when the product left the possession of the manufacturer or seller, if:
  • The product is inherently unsafe and the design defect is known to be unsafe by the ordinary consumer, who has the ordinary knowledge common to the community, and who consumes the product
  • And, the product design defect is a common consumer product intended for personal consumption

When a Warning Should be Given


A product is defective by design if the use of the product involves a substantial danger that would not be readily recognized by the ordinary user of the product. A manufacturer has a duty to provide an adequate warning to the user on how to use the product if a reasonably foreseeable use of the product involves a substantial danger of which the manufacturer either is aware or should be aware.

Understanding the “ins and outs” of liability for a product design defect can be complex. Consult with Seeger Weiss.

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