Areas of Practice

Defective Products

Injuries caused by defective products from manufacturers are actionable under Ohio law. There are four types of product liability claims: manufacturing defects, design defects, warning defects, and failure to conform to the manufacturer’s representations.

A product contains a manufacturing defect when the specific product that you have varies from the manufacturer’s specifications for the product. Ohio R.C. § 2307.74 governs manufacturing defects.

A product has a design defect when the foreseeable risk of injuries associated with that design exceed the benefits gained from it or the product is more dangerous than an ordinary consumer would expect. Ohio R.C. § 2307.75 governs design defects.

A product is defective due to an inadequate warning when the manufacturer knew, or should have known, about a risk related to the product and failed to warn the consumer about that risk. Ohio R.C. § 2307.76 governs failure to warn defects.

A product is defective when it does not conform to a representation made by manufacturer. Ohio R.C. § 2307.77 governs these types of claims.

To prevail on any of these claims, you must establish the following elements:

1. that one of the above defects was in the product manufactured and sold by the defendant;
2. that the defect existed at the time the product left the defendant’s hand; and
3. the defect caused your injuries.

Damages

If successful at trial, you can recover all of your compensatory damages associated with your injuries. Compensatory damages include medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering.

If a defective product has resulted in death, the beneficiaries of the decedent are permitted to recover relief available for wrongful death.

Timing

You must bring your claim within 2 years of your injury. However, you may not bring an action against a manufacturer based on a product that is more than 10 years old.

Product liability claims can be very complicated. In order to protect your rights, you should speak with an attorney that specializes in personal injury law. You may contact us by completing a confidential case analysis form or by calling us directly at (330) 258-8000.

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