Product Liability & Defective Products

Product Liability in Michigan: When Defective Products Cause Catastrophic Injuries, Manufacturers Pay

A defective product can turn an ordinary day into a life-altering catastrophe. A car with a faulty ignition switch. A medical device that fails inside your body. A children's toy with a choking hazard that wasn't disclosed. A power tool that malfunctions and severs a finger. Michigan's product liability framework holds manufacturers, distributors, and sellers strictly liable when their defective products cause injuries — and the damages in these cases often reach into the millions because the injuries are severe and the defendant corporations have deep pockets and substantial insurance coverage.

At Koussan Law, I take on product liability cases against some of the largest manufacturers in the world. These cases require significant resources — expert engineers, product safety consultants, accident reconstructionists, and medical specialists — but I invest those resources because defective product cases produce meaningful results for injured clients and force companies to fix dangerous products.

Three Types of Product Defects Under Michigan Law

Michigan recognizes three categories of product defects under MCL § 600.2945 et seq.:

Design defects exist when the product's design is inherently unreasonably dangerous — even when manufactured correctly. The question is whether a reasonable alternative design was available that would have reduced the risk without substantially impairing the product's utility.

Manufacturing defects occur when a specific product deviates from its intended design due to an error in the manufacturing process. The product as designed was safe, but this particular unit was not.

Failure to warn (marketing defects) arise when the manufacturer fails to provide adequate warnings or instructions about known risks.

Michigan's Product Liability Act

Michigan's Product Liability Act (MCL § 600.2945-2949a) governs product defect claims. A product liability action must be brought within three years under MCL § 600.5805(12). Michigan does not impose a statute of repose cutting off product claims a fixed number of years after sale. What the statute does provide is that if the product had been in use for 10 years or more, the plaintiff must prove a prima facie case without the benefit of any presumption. That is an evidentiary burden, not a bar to filing.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Who can I sue in a product liability case?

Any entity in the product's chain of distribution: the manufacturer, the designer, the component supplier, the distributor, and the retailer. In practice, the manufacturer and designer are the primary targets because they have the most control over product safety and the largest insurance coverage.

Q: Do I have to prove the manufacturer was negligent?

For manufacturing defect and failure-to-warn claims, Michigan applies a negligence-based standard under the Product Liability Act. For design defect claims, the risk-utility test applies — you must show a reasonable alternative design was available. Michigan does not apply pure strict liability in product cases the way some other states do, but the practical effect is similar because the focus is on the product's condition rather than the manufacturer's conduct.

Q: What is the statute of limitations for product liability in Michigan?

Three years from the date of injury under MCL § 600.5805(12). Michigan has no statute of repose barring a product claim a set number of years after sale, so the age of the product does not by itself end your case. Once a product has been in use for 10 years or more, however, you must prove your case without the benefit of any presumption, which makes preserving the product and its service history critical.

Q: What damages are available in a Michigan product liability case?

Economic damages cover medical expenses, lost wages, future care costs, and any other financial losses caused by the defective product. Non-economic damages cover pain and suffering, emotional distress, disfigurement, and loss of enjoyment of life. Michigan caps non-economic damages in product liability cases under MCL § 600.2946a, on a two-tier scheme adjusted annually for inflation, with the higher tier applying where the defect caused death or permanent loss of a vital bodily function. The cap does not apply where the manufacturer had actual knowledge of the defect and willfully disregarded it. Economic damages are never capped. In cases involving intentional concealment of a known defect, exemplary damages may also be available.