Design defect and manufacturing defect fall under the category of product liability. A design defect is established when the blue print of a particular product, such as the blue print of a car, is not properly designed. This means that an entire line of a product is defective as opposed to just one product. A manufacturing defect on the other hand is established when one product only in an entire line is defective. For example, the steering wheel of one Toyota Corolla out of a hundred may have not been inputted correctly.

A company’s main objective is to constantly increase the amount of money they receive by selling cars for example. It is the company’s duty to make sure that all their products are safe. When there is a defect in a particular product’s blue print and that product was manufactured and sold to many, any injuries sustained by any of the consumers will be held against that company. If there is only one product from an entire line that injures its consumer, the company will be liable to that consumer.

Recent Design Defects and Manufacturing Defects That Involve Automobiles

• Defective Tires: According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), more than 8,000 serious or fatal accidents are caused by tire failure every year.
• Defective Airbags: Airbags have saved countless lives. Unfortunately, the malfunction of one can result in serious injury or death. If the airbag fails to deploy during an accident, the person in the collision will be much more vulnerable to the impact. If the airbag deploys without an impact, the driver will most likely lose control of the vehicle and can easily get in an accident. Even if the driver were to be able to maintain control, the deployment of the impact itself can cause serious injury.
• Defective Seatbelts: The problem with a defective seatbelt can usually be found with the belt latch. During a collision the latch can become unlatched or break. A defective seatbelt can result in serious injury even in a minor car accident.
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