A ladder rail buckled, a heater started a fire, or a medicine did something nobody warned you about, and now you’re hurt and wondering whether anyone is responsible. If you’re not sure you even have a case, that’s normal.
Here’s the plain answer. Product liability is the legal responsibility of the businesses that make and sell a product for harm it causes when it’s defective. A product can be defective in three ways: a flaw in how one unit was made, a flaw in the design itself, or missing or inadequate warnings. To recover, you generally have to show that the product was defective when it left the defendant’s control and that the defect caused your injury. In Michigan, you usually have three years to sue (MCL 600.5805(12)).
The hard part usually isn’t showing that something went wrong. It’s the claims process: the product is the key evidence and is easy to lose, the maker and its insurer handle claims like yours every day, and the deadline runs while you heal. Michigan’s rules are in the boxes marked “In Michigan.”
Hurt by a product that should have been safe? Get a free case review. Four quick questions, no cost, no obligation.
What is product liability?
Product liability is one kind of personal injury claim, and it can reach any business in the product’s chain of manufacture and sale. There’s no federal product liability law, so state law decides these claims, on theories of negligence, strict liability or breach of warranty, depending on the state (Cornell Law School’s Legal Information Institute).
Whatever the theory, the question is the same: was something wrong with the product itself? In the Michigan Supreme Court’s words, whether a suit is based on negligence or implied warranty, the plaintiff must prove “that the product itself is actionable — that something is wrong with it that makes it dangerous,” and that the defect caused the injury (Prentis v Yale Manufacturing Co, 1984). If a defective product hasn’t hurt anyone, see what you can do about a defective product that hasn’t injured you.
What are the three types of product defects?
Courts recognize three kinds of defects: in manufacturing, in design and in warnings (Cornell Law School’s Legal Information Institute). Each is proved differently.
Manufacturing defects: one unit came out wrong
A manufacturing defect is a flaw in one unit: something went wrong in production. It can be measured against the maker’s own production standards, as shown by the maker’s other units of the same product (Prentis). In Ohio, a product that “deviated in a material way” from its maker’s specifications, or from otherwise identical units, can be defective “even though its manufacturer exercised all possible care” (Ohio Rev. Code § 2307.74).
A made-up example: a batch of aluminum ladders gets side rails of thinner metal than the maker’s specifications require. A homeowner is on the fourth rung when a rail buckles. Ladders built to specification hold far more weight, and that comparison is the heart of his claim. See how manufacturing defect claims work.
Design defects: every unit shares the flaw
A design defect is built into the plan, so every unit has it. Depending on the state, courts weigh a design’s risks against its usefulness, ask whether it’s more dangerous than an ordinary consumer would expect, or use both tests (Cornell Law School’s Legal Information Institute). Some states also require a safer alternative: in Ohio, a design isn’t defective unless “a practical and technically feasible alternative design or formulation” was available that would have prevented the harm without substantially impairing the product’s usefulness or intended purpose (Ohio Rev. Code § 2307.75(F)).
A made-up example: a space heater is designed to keep running after it tips over. A dog knocks one over, it keeps heating against the carpet, and a fire starts. A tip-over shutoff switch was a practical, low-cost option when the heater was designed. See how design defect claims work.
Warning defects: missing or inadequate warnings or instructions
A warning defect means users weren’t told what they needed to know about a risk. In Ohio, for example, a product is defective if the maker knew, or in the exercise of reasonable care should have known, about a risk and didn’t give the warning or instruction a reasonably careful maker would have. A product isn’t defective for lacking a warning about an open and obvious risk or one that’s common knowledge (Ohio Rev. Code § 2307.76(A)(1), (B)).
A made-up example: a home hair-straightening cream can burn the scalp if left on longer than 20 minutes, as the maker’s own testing showed, but the instructions give no time limit. A user who follows them as written is burned. A clear time limit would have prevented it.
Prescription drugs: the learned-intermediary rule
For prescription drugs, the warning usually goes to your doctor, the “learned intermediary” between the maker and you. Michigan’s Court of Appeals called this a rule “adopted by a majority of jurisdictions in cases involving therapeutic, diagnostic or curative drugs” (Mowery v Crittenton Hospital, 1986). Federal law can also block a claim: because a generic drug’s warning label must match the brand name’s, the U.S. Supreme Court held that federal drug regulations pre-empt state-law claims that generic makers failed to provide adequate warning labels (PLIVA, Inc. v. Mensing, 2011).
Negligence, strict liability or warranty: which applies?
States mix these theories differently:
- Negligence asks whether the maker or seller failed to use reasonable care. It “generally focuses on the defendant’s conduct, requiring a showing that it was unreasonable” (Prentis).
- Strict liability asks whether the product was defective. Where it applies, a maker can be liable for a defect even if it was careful (Cornell Law School’s Legal Information Institute), as under Ohio’s manufacturing-defect statute above.
- Warranty comes from the sale, and it “generally focuses upon the fitness of the product, irrespective of the defendant’s conduct” (Prentis).
An express warranty is a seller’s promise or statement of fact about the goods that becomes part of the deal. Unless the sale excludes them, implied warranties promise that a merchant’s goods are fit for their ordinary purposes, and that goods from any seller are fit for your particular purpose if the seller had reason to know it and that you were relying on its judgment (Michigan’s versions: MCL 440.2313, 440.2314, 440.2315). In Michigan, serving food or drink for value counts as a sale, so a restaurant meal carries the implied warranty of merchantability too (MCL 440.2314(1)); see food poisoning claims. If you bought the product, tell the seller about the problem within a reasonable time after you discover it, or should have, or you can be barred from any remedy (MCL 440.2607(3)(a)). See how breach of warranty claims work.
Who can sue for a defective product?
Usually anyone the defect injured, not just the buyer. Product liability covers harm to a consumer “or someone to whom the product was loaned, given, etc.” (Cornell Law School’s Legal Information Institute). Say you buy a folding chair and it collapses under a friend visiting your home: your friend may have a claim too. If the injury was fatal, the claim becomes a wrongful death claim, brought for the family.
Who can be held responsible for a defective product?
Anyone in the chain from factory to store can be: the maker of a component part, the company that assembled the product, the wholesaler and the store that sold it (Cornell Law School’s Legal Information Institute). When many people are hurt the same way, as with asbestos, claims may be brought together; see asbestos and mesothelioma claims, toxic exposure lawsuits and how class actions and mass torts work.
What do you have to prove in a product liability case?
In general, that:
- the product was defective, in one of the three ways above;
- the defect existed when the product left the defendant’s control;
- you were injured, or your property was damaged; and
- the defect caused the injury.
That’s the usual outline (Cornell Law School’s Legal Information Institute). You don’t have to prove you were unaware of the danger, but the other side can argue that you knew about it, misused the product or changed it. Depending on the state and the facts, those arguments can reduce what you recover or defeat the claim.
Design cases lean on experts: design decisions are “deliberate and documentable,” the Michigan Supreme Court noted, and expert witnesses and technical data can help show one “was ill considered” (Prentis). Meeting a federal safety standard isn’t automatically a defense. Compliance with a federal motor vehicle safety standard “does not exempt a person from liability at common law” (49 U.S.C. § 30103(e)), and complying with federal consumer product safety rules doesn’t relieve anyone of liability under state law (15 U.S.C. § 2074(a)).
Not sure which of these rules fits what happened to you? Get a free case review. Four quick questions, no cost, no obligation.
What is a product liability claim worth?
There’s no reliable “average.” Value depends on the injury and how long it lasts, the care and lost pay still ahead, how clearly the defect caused the harm, any share of fault and the state’s damage rules. Damages generally fall into two groups (as Michigan defines them, MCL 600.2945(c), (f)):
- Economic damages: losses with a price tag, such as medical bills, rehabilitation, lost wages and future earnings, and the cost to repair or replace damaged property.
- Noneconomic damages: harm without a receipt, such as pain, suffering, disfigurement, emotional distress and loss of companionship.
Before you settle, find out who may need to be repaid from it (who gets paid from your settlement) and what a lawyer’s fee would take (how injury lawyers get paid). See also how pain and suffering is valued and what your injury case may be worth.
What if the product was recalled?
Check the federal recall lists:
- Consumer products: search the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission’s recalls and product safety warnings. Each notice lists the hazard and the remedy: a refund, repair, replacement, or instructions to dispose of the product. The CPSC asks you to report an unsafe product on SaferProducts.gov.
- Vehicles and tires: the maker must remedy a recalled defect free of charge, by its choice of repair, replacement or refund (less depreciation, for a vehicle), unless the vehicle was first sold more than 15 years before the recall notice, or the tire more than 5 years (49 U.S.C. § 30120(a)(1), (g)(1)). Large automakers must offer a free recall search by vehicle identification number (VIN) on their websites and share that data with NHTSA (49 C.F.R. § 573.15). Check yours with NHTSA’s recall lookup.
- Drugs, medical devices and food: the FDA posts recalls, market withdrawals and safety alerts, though it says not every recall is posted there, and takes reports of problems with medicines and medical devices through its MedWatch program.
A recall isn’t a verdict: you still have to prove your unit was defective and that the defect caused your injury. For a vehicle, the recall remedy is in addition to your other legal rights (49 U.S.C. § 30103(d)). And a product that was never recalled can still be defective: in a lawsuit over a consumer product, the fact that the CPSC took no action can’t be offered as evidence (15 U.S.C. § 2074(b)).
How long do you have to file a product liability lawsuit?
Every state sets its own deadline, called a statute of limitations; see injury deadlines in every state. Some add a statute of repose, a law that bars claims a set time after something the defendant did, even if you haven’t been hurt yet (Cornell Law School’s Legal Information Institute). Ohio, for example, allows two years to sue and generally bars product claims that accrue more than 10 years after delivery to the first buyer, with exceptions such as fraud and asbestos (Ohio Rev. Code § 2305.10(A), (C)).
What to do next
- Get medical care, and keep every record. Tell each provider what product was involved. Keep bills, pay stubs and a note of every day missed from work.
- Keep the product, unrepaired, with its packaging, manual, receipt and any broken pieces, somewhere safe and out of use, even if it’s been recalled. Photograph it and where you were hurt, and don’t hand it to the maker, the seller or an insurer before you’ve had advice (how to preserve evidence).
- Check for recalls and report the problem: the CPSC’s recall list, NHTSA’s lookup for a vehicle, or the FDA’s MedWatch program for a medicine or device.
- Write down your deadline, and put the seller on notice. In Michigan, it’s generally 3 years from the injury. If you bought the product, tell the seller about the problem in writing. Don’t give a recorded statement or sign a release before you’ve had advice.
- Get a free case review. A lawyer can check which theory fits, who’s responsible and how much time is left. Product cases often need experts to test the product, so ask how that’s handled and paid for, and get the fee agreement in writing. The decision to settle is yours, and in Michigan your lawyer must promptly tell you about every settlement offer (MRPC 1.2(a), 1.4(a)). Get a free case review, or, if you were hurt in Michigan, compare Michigan injury lawyers.
What waiting can cost
- Your right to sue. In Michigan, 3 years from the injury for most product claims (MCL 600.5805(12)), and less in some states, such as Ohio’s 2 years (Ohio Rev. Code § 2305.10(A)).
- The evidence. A product that’s repaired, returned, thrown away or lost can’t be tested.
- Warranty remedies. A buyer who doesn’t notify the seller of a breach within a reasonable time can lose them (MCL 440.2607(3)(a)).
What a good outcome looks like
The product is preserved and tested, the claim names everyone responsible, from the maker to the seller, and it’s filed on time. Your medical bills and lost pay are covered by those responsible, along with compensation for what you went through, and before you sign anything, you know what you’ll take home. From wondering whether anyone is responsible to knowing what made the product dangerous, who answers for it and how long you have to act.
For more on defective products, drugs and toxic exposure, browse the defective product and toxic exposure guides.
Frequently asked questions
What are the three types of product defects?
Manufacturing defects, where one unit departs from the maker's own design or standards; design defects, where the design itself makes every unit unreasonably dangerous; and warning defects, where the maker didn't give adequate warnings or instructions about a risk it knew or should have known about. Depending on the state, a claim can rest on negligence, strict liability or breach of warranty. In Michigan, a design claim against the maker is judged by a negligence, risk-utility test (Prentis v Yale Manufacturing Co, 1984).
Can you sue if you didn't buy the defective product?
Often, yes. The people who can bring product claims include users who didn't buy the product and, in Michigan, bystanders: a man hurt when his brother's shotgun barrel exploded could sue the maker of the shells for breach of warranty as well as negligence (Piercefield v Remington Arms Co, 1965). By statute, a Michigan seller's warranty also extends to members of the buyer's family or household and to guests in the buyer's home who could reasonably be expected to use, consume or be affected by the goods and are personally injured by the breach (MCL 440.2318). If the injury was fatal, the estate's personal representative brings the claim (MCL 600.2922(2)).
Does a recall mean you have a product liability case?
Not by itself. A recall notice describes a hazard and a remedy, such as a refund, repair or replacement, but to recover for an injury you still have to prove your unit was defective and that the defect caused your injury. For a vehicle, the maker must remedy a recalled defect free of charge unless the vehicle was first sold more than 15 years before the recall notice, and that remedy is in addition to your other legal rights (49 U.S.C. §§ 30103(d), 30120). A product that was never recalled can still be defective: in a lawsuit over a consumer product, the fact that the Consumer Product Safety Commission took no action isn't admissible as evidence (15 U.S.C. § 2074(b)).
Can you sue a drug company in Michigan?
Since February 13, 2024, makers and sellers of FDA-approved drugs no longer have the immunity from product liability claims that a 1995 Michigan law gave them (2023 PA 285). If your injury happened before that date, ask a lawyer whether the old immunity still applies. Michigan's Court of Appeals has applied the learned-intermediary rule, under which the maker's warning goes to the prescribing doctor or hospital rather than directly to the patient or other user (Mowery v Crittenton Hospital, 1986; Brown v Drake-Willock International, Ltd, 1995), and federal law pre-empts state-law claims that generic drug makers failed to provide adequate warning labels (PLIVA, Inc. v. Mensing, 2011).
How long do you have to file a product liability lawsuit in Michigan?
Generally 3 years from the injury (MCL 600.5805(12), 600.5827). There's no general rule that delays the start because you learned the cause later (Trentadue v Buckler Automatic Lawn Sprinkler Co, 2007), but a claim for breach of a warranty of quality or fitness starts when the breach is discovered or reasonably should have been (MCL 600.5833; Cullender v BASF Wyandotte Corp, 1985), and if someone liable fraudulently concealed the claim, you have 2 years from when you discovered it or should have (MCL 600.5855). Someone injured as a child has until a year after turning 18 if that's later (MCL 600.5851(1)). The 10-year rule in the same subsection isn't a cutoff: after a product has been in use 10 years, you can still sue, but you must prove your case 'without the benefit of any presumption' (MCL 600.5805(12)).
Is there a cap on product liability damages in Michigan?
Yes, on noneconomic damages such as pain and suffering. For 2026, the Michigan Department of Treasury set the cap at $596,400, or $1,065,000 if the defect caused death or permanent loss of a vital bodily function (MCL 600.2946a(1)). In a death or lost-function case, the cap doesn't apply at all to a defendant whose gross negligence caused the death or loss, and no cap applies in any case if the court finds the defendant knew the product was defective and substantially likely to cause the injury and willfully disregarded that knowledge (MCL 600.2946a(3), 600.2949a). Economic damages, such as medical bills and lost wages, aren't capped, and the jury isn't told about the caps (MCL 600.2946a(2)).
Sources
- Prentis v Yale Manufacturing Co, 421 Mich 670 (1984) · Caselaw Access Project, Harvard Law School
- Smith v E R Squibb & Sons, Inc, 405 Mich 79 (1979) · Caselaw Access Project, Harvard Law School
- In re Certified Questions (Odgers v Ortho Pharmaceutical Corp), 419 Mich 686 (1984) · Caselaw Access Project, Harvard Law School
- Mowery v Crittenton Hospital, 155 Mich App 711 (1986) · Caselaw Access Project, Harvard Law School
- Brown v Drake-Willock International, Ltd, 209 Mich App 136 (1995) · Caselaw Access Project, Harvard Law School
- Piercefield v Remington Arms Co, 375 Mich 85 (1965) · Caselaw Access Project, Harvard Law School
- Trentadue v Buckler Automatic Lawn Sprinkler Co, 479 Mich 378 (2007) · Caselaw Access Project, Harvard Law School
- Cullender v BASF Wyandotte Corp, 146 Mich App 423 (1985) · Caselaw Access Project, Harvard Law School
- PLIVA, Inc. v. Mensing, 564 U.S. 604 (2011) · Caselaw Access Project, Harvard Law School
- MCL 600.2945, Product liability definitions · Michigan Legislature
- MCL 600.2946, Product liability action; admissible evidence (as amended by 2023 PA 285) · Michigan Legislature
- MCL 600.2946a, Product liability; limitation on noneconomic damages · Michigan Legislature
- MCL 600.2947, Product liability; liability of manufacturer or seller · Michigan Legislature
- MCL 600.2948, Product liability; warnings · Michigan Legislature
- MCL 600.2949a, Knowledge of defective product · Michigan Legislature
- MCL 600.2959, Comparative fault; reduced damages · Michigan Legislature
- MCL 600.2922, Wrongful death actions · Michigan Legislature
- MCL 600.5805, Period of limitations for injuries to persons or property · Michigan Legislature
- MCL 600.5827, Accrual of claim · Michigan Legislature
- MCL 600.5833, Accrual of claim; breach of warranty of quality or fitness · Michigan Legislature
- MCL 600.5851, Claims of minors; year of grace · Michigan Legislature
- MCL 600.5852, Death before the period of limitations has run · Michigan Legislature
- MCL 600.5855, Fraudulent concealment of a claim · Michigan Legislature
- MCL 440.2313, Express warranties · Michigan Legislature
- MCL 440.2314, Implied warranty of merchantability · Michigan Legislature
- MCL 440.2315, Implied warranty of fitness for a particular purpose · Michigan Legislature
- MCL 440.2318, Warranties extend to the buyer's family, household and guests · Michigan Legislature
- MCL 440.2607, Acceptance of goods; notice of breach · Michigan Legislature
- Public Act 285 of 2023 (Enrolled Senate Bill 410), effective February 13, 2024 · Michigan Legislature
- Senate Bill 410 (Public Act 285 of 2023): analysis as enacted (September 10, 2024) · Senate Fiscal Agency
- Limitation on noneconomic damages and product liability determination on economic damages (notice, January 30, 2026) · Michigan Department of Treasury
- Michigan Model Civil Jury Instructions (updated July 21, 2026): M Civ JI 25.22 and 25.32 · Michigan Supreme Court
- Michigan Rules of Professional Conduct 1.2(a) (scope of representation) and 1.4(a) (communication) · Michigan Supreme Court
- Ohio Rev. Code § 2305.10, Bodily injury or injury to personal property (product liability limitations and repose) · Ohio Legislative Service Commission
- Ohio Rev. Code § 2307.74, Product defective in manufacture or construction · Ohio Legislative Service Commission
- Ohio Rev. Code § 2307.75, Product defective in design or formulation · Ohio Legislative Service Commission
- Ohio Rev. Code § 2307.76, Product defective due to inadequate warning or instruction · Ohio Legislative Service Commission
- 49 U.S.C. § 30103, Relationship to other laws (motor vehicle safety) · Office of the Law Revision Counsel, U.S. House of Representatives
- 49 U.S.C. § 30120, Remedies for defects and noncompliance · Office of the Law Revision Counsel, U.S. House of Representatives
- 49 C.F.R. § 573.15, Public availability of motor vehicle recall information · Electronic Code of Federal Regulations, Office of the Federal Register
- 15 U.S.C. § 2074, Consumer Product Safety Act: private remedies · Office of the Law Revision Counsel, U.S. House of Representatives
- Recalls & Product Safety Warnings · U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
- Recalls, Market Withdrawals, & Safety Alerts · U.S. Food and Drug Administration
- MedWatch: The FDA Safety Information and Adverse Event Reporting Program · U.S. Food and Drug Administration
- Products liability (Wex legal dictionary) · Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School
- Statute of repose (Wex legal dictionary) · Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School
- Presumption (Wex legal dictionary) · Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School
- Curry v Meijer, Inc, 286 Mich App 586 (2009) · Caselaw Access Project, Harvard Law School
Updated September 28, 2026
This guide is general information, not legal advice, and laws change. For advice about your situation, talk to a lawyer licensed in your state. Reading this page or contacting us does not create an attorney-client relationship.