Products liability refers to a claim or lawsuit against a manufacturer or seller of a product—such as a defective medical device—for the recovery of damages related to personal injury, death, or property damage claimed to be caused by a defective product.

The claim or lawsuit may be based on the legal theories of strict tort liability, strict products liability, negligence, misrepresentation, breach of express or implied warranty, or any other theory or combination of theories.

Product liability claims may be made against the manufacturer of component parts, an assembling manufacturer, the wholesaler, and the retailer. And product liability claims may be made by the consumer who purchased the product or by someone else who borrowed or used the product.

Product liability laws vary from state to state, and product liability claims may be based on the state’s court opinions (also known as case law or common law) or on the state’s statutes—which are usually the version of the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) adopted by the state.

For example, under a state’s version of Article 2 of the UCC (dealing with sales of goods) there are implied warranties of merchantability and of fitness of the goods for a particular purpose included in every sale of goods. In some states these warranties may be waived by agreement, but in other states they may not be waived. See U.C.C. §2-314 and U.C.C. §2-315.

And under a strict liability theory of products liability, the amount of care or precaution taken by the manufacturer is not relevant—the manufacturer will be liable for the harm result from the defective product.

To prevail on a products liability claim, the claimant or plaintiff must prove the product:

• was defective in its design (a design defect) because there was a safer alternative design for the product;

• was defective in its manufacture (a manufacturing defect) because its production departed from the intended design, was significantly or materially different from the other products of the same design, did not work as intended, and was more dangerous to the consumer than expected; or

• was defective in its marketing (a marketing defect) because the product’s advertising and instructions for use were inadequate or failed to warn consumers of hidden (latent) dangers in the product.

In Ohio, product liability claims can be based on strict liability, negligence, breach of warranty, or other theories. Ohio Revised Code Chapter 2307.71 et seq. governs product liability actions, including those against manufacturers, suppliers, and sellers. Under Ohio law, a product may be considered defective due to design defects, manufacturing defects, or marketing defects (failure to warn). A design defect exists if there was a foreseeable risk of harm posed by the product and a reasonable alternative design could have reduced or avoided that risk. A manufacturing defect occurs when a product departs from its intended design, even if all possible care was exercised in its preparation and marketing. For marketing defects, the product must fail to contain proper instructions or warnings, presenting a danger that is not readily apparent to the user. Ohio law also recognizes the implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose, as outlined in the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC). However, these warranties can be disclaimed or modified under certain conditions as per the UCC and Ohio's commercial statutes. To succeed in a product liability claim, the plaintiff must prove that the product was defective, the defect proximately caused their injury, and the injury resulted in compensable damages.