One of the major product liability claims in New York State is defective design. A plaintiff files a defective design claim when an injury or death was likely due to a negligent product design.
A product manufacturer is guilty of negligent design if they used a dangerous design instead of a safe alternate design. According to New York product liability law, manufacturers must mitigate hazardous designs even if it would raise the price of their products.
If no safer alternate design exists, the manufacturer must guard against the dangerous condition of the design. For dangerous conditions that cannot be avoided, manufacturers must attach a hazard warning to the product. Manufacturers that fail to implement these protocols may be liable for negligent design.