How does a plaintiff prove that a product was defectively designed?

In Washington, a plaintiff who is seeking to prove that a product was defectively designed must show that the product was unreasonably dangerous when used in an intended or foreseeable way. This means that the plaintiff must show that the product’s design, construction, warnings, and/or instructions were inadequate and caused harm or injury. Generally, the plaintiff must demonstrate that the product was not designed to make it safe for expected or foreseeable use, or if the product was not adequately tested or warnings and instructions were not sufficient to protect the user from a foreseeable risk of harm. The plaintiff may also need to demonstrate that a reasonable alternative design existed that could have prevented the injury or harm. To support these claims, the plaintiff may need to provide evidence such as expert testimony to show that the design, testing, warnings, and/or instructions were inadequate or omitted. Furthermore, the plaintiff may need to show that a feasible alternative design existed, or that by changing the existing design, the product could have been made safer. Additionally, the plaintiff must demonstrate the cause of the harm and how it was connected to the defective design. In many cases, expert testimony will be necessary to explain the engineering features of the product and why the design was defective. Ultimately, a plaintiff must present evidence that links the product’s design to the injury or harm suffered. If the defective design was an actual cause of the harm, the plaintiff may then be able to receive compensatory damages.

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How does a plaintiff prove that a product was defectively designed?

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