You should not have to question whether an everyday product will seriously injure you or your family. We trust vehicles to protect us, medications to help us, and medical devices to work as intended. We expect children’s products, appliances, tools, and household goods to be reasonably safe.
When that trust is broken, the consequences can change a life. At Joumana Law, we represent injured people and families seeking accountability after dangerous products cause harm. We help clients understand what happened, who may be responsible, and what legal options may be available.
Defective & Dangerous Products Explore the Type of Case That Brought You Here
Each case type below raises its own questions about fault, evidence, and potential compensation.
What Is a Product Liability Claim?
A product liability claim generally involves an injury or death allegedly caused by a defective or unsafe product. These cases can involve the product’s design, manufacturing, warnings, instructions, or other safety-related issues.
Michigan has specific laws governing product liability actions. Under Michigan law, these cases can involve detailed questions about whether a product was reasonably safe and what caused the injury. The legal analysis depends heavily on the product and circumstances.
A product liability case may involve allegations concerning:
- Design defects: A problem with how the product was designed.
- Manufacturing or production defects: A product may differ from its intended design because something went wrong during production.
- Warnings or instructions: A product may present risks that were not adequately communicated to users.
- Other negligent conduct: The investigation may uncover conduct that contributed to an unsafe product reaching consumers.
Michigan law can impose specific requirements on these claims. For example, Michigan Compiled Laws § 600.2946 addresses production-defect claims and evidence concerning product safety standards. A lawyer must examine the facts before determining which legal theories may apply. A serious injury alone does not automatically establish product liability.
Product Liability Cases Joumana Law Handles
Dangerous products reach consumers in many different ways. Some failures become apparent immediately. Others may not become clear until consumers report similar injuries or safety concerns emerge. Joumana Law evaluates product-related injuries across several categories. Each type of case can require a different investigation, evidence, and legal strategy.
Product Liability
A defective product can be something used every day. It might be an appliance, power tool, piece of machinery, electronic device, household item, or recreational product. Potential cases may involve products that:
- Break or malfunction during normal use
- Contain unsafe components
- Overheat, ignite, or explode
- Lack adequate safety features
- Create unexpected electrical or mechanical hazards
- Contain inadequate instructions or warnings
- Fail in ways that cause serious physical injuries
One important question is why the product failed. The answer may require examining its design, manufacturing process, warnings, intended uses, and history. That investigation can reveal much more than the damaged product itself.
Defective Vehicles & Auto Parts
Not every serious vehicle injury is caused only by a driver’s mistake. Sometimes the vehicle itself, or one of its components, contributes to a crash or makes the resulting injuries worse. Potentially defective vehicle components can include:
Consider a collision where another driver causes the initial impact. A defective restraint system could still contribute to the severity of an occupant’s injuries. That creates a different investigation from an ordinary car accident claim. Attorneys may need to examine the crash, the vehicle, the failed component, and available technical evidence.
Do not assume the other driver is the only possible responsible party. In some cases, a defective vehicle or auto part deserves closer examination.
Do not assume the other driver is the only possible responsible party.
Dangerous Consumer & Children’s Products
People bring products into their homes expecting them to be reasonably safe. Parents place even greater trust in products made specifically for babies and children. Potential cases can involve:
Children can be especially vulnerable to hazards involving choking, entrapment, burns, falls, toxic substances, or defective safety mechanisms. A recall may help identify a known safety problem. However, the absence of a recall does not automatically mean a product was safe.
Product liability requires an individual assessment of the product, injury, available evidence, and applicable law.
Dangerous Drugs
People take medications because they expect the treatment to improve or protect their health. A serious drug-related injury can leave patients wondering whether they were ever told the full story about potential risks. Dangerous drug litigation may involve allegations concerning:
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration maintains information about drug recalls and safety issues. A recall can occur when a company removes a defective drug from the market or warns consumers about potential risks. A recall is important information, but it does not automatically establish a personal injury claim. Likewise, an injury involving a medication does not necessarily mean the drug manufacturer is legally responsible.
These cases require careful analysis of medical history, drug exposure, timing, alleged injuries, warnings, and available scientific evidence.
Defective Medical Devices
A medical device can become part of someone’s daily life or even part of their body. Patients may depend on these products for mobility, heart function, pain relief, monitoring, surgery, or other essential care. Potentially defective devices can include:
The FDA monitors adverse events and other medical device problems. It also publishes medical device recalls and early safety alerts. A medical device recall does not always mean patients should immediately stop using the device. It also does not necessarily require an implanted device to be removed. Patients should discuss medical decisions with their healthcare providers.
From a legal perspective, a defective medical device case can involve technical and medical evidence. Attorneys may investigate the device’s history, warnings, alleged failure, regulatory information, and relationship to the patient’s injury.
Mass Torts & Current Lawsuits
Sometimes one dangerous drug, medical device, or consumer product allegedly harms people across the country. Those claims may become part of large-scale litigation. A mass tort generally involves numerous people who allege similar injuries connected to the same or related products or conduct. However, each injured person’s circumstances can still matter.
These cases may involve:
- Prescription drugs
- Medical devices
- Consumer products
- Toxic exposures
- Other products linked to widespread allegations of injury
Mass torts are not automatically the same as class actions. Individual plaintiffs in mass tort litigation may have different injuries, medical histories, exposure levels, and damages. Large-scale litigation can also change over time. New evidence may emerge, lawsuits may be consolidated, and courts may issue important rulings.
Joumana Law can evaluate whether a person’s circumstances may relate to current litigation. We can also determine what steps may be appropriate based on that individual’s situation.
Who Can Be Responsible for a Dangerous Product?
The company name printed on a product is not always the end of the investigation. Modern products can pass through complex manufacturing and distribution chains before reaching consumers. Depending on the facts and applicable law, an investigation may examine the conduct of:
Michigan law contains specific provisions governing liability involving manufacturers and sellers. Those rules make it important to identify each party’s actual role rather than assuming everyone in the distribution chain has equal responsibility.
For example, a vehicle manufacturer may assemble thousands of parts made by outside suppliers. The component that failed might have been designed or manufactured by another company. The same issue can arise with medical devices and consumer products. A product sold under one brand may contain components produced elsewhere.
Finding the company connected to the failure can require tracing the product through its entire chain. That is one reason preserving identifying information can be so important.
What Should You Do After a Defective Product Injury?
Your health comes first. Seek appropriate medical attention after a serious injury and follow your healthcare provider’s recommendations. After immediate medical needs are addressed, evidence preservation may become extremely important. A defective product can be altered, repaired, discarded, or returned before an injured person realizes it may matter.
When reasonably possible, consider preserving:
Avoid throwing away, repairing, modifying, or surrendering a potentially defective product without first considering its evidentiary value. The physical product may help experts determine what failed. Be cautious about returning a product to a manufacturer simply because the company requests it. Speak with an attorney about evidence preservation if you believe the product caused a serious injury.
Medical devices require an additional consideration. Never ignore medical advice or change treatment simply to preserve evidence. If an implanted device may be defective, talk with your physician about your medical care. Your health and safety should guide treatment decisions.
How Are Product Liability Cases Investigated?
Product liability cases can require much more than proving that someone was injured. The central questions often concern what failed, why it failed, and whether that failure caused the injury. An investigation may examine:
Experts may also become important. Depending on the case, engineers, physicians, scientists, accident reconstruction professionals, or other specialists may help evaluate the evidence. Michigan’s product liability statutes also address evidence involving safety standards and production practices. That makes a careful legal and technical investigation especially important.
Why Preserving the Product Can Matter
Imagine a power tool suddenly breaks and causes a severe hand injury. A family member understandably wants to throw the broken tool away. That tool could contain evidence about the failure. Its components, fracture patterns, safety mechanisms, and identifying information may help explain what happened.
The same principle can apply to tires, vehicle parts, appliances, toys, batteries, and other products. Preserving evidence gives attorneys and qualified experts more information to evaluate.
Accountability Can Reach Beyond One Case
For Joumana Kayrouz, personal injury law is about more than processing claims. Her approach reflects a broader belief that accountability can help encourage safer systems. Litigation can seek compensation for someone who has already been hurt. It can also expose alleged safety failures and create pressure for companies to address dangerous practices.
That matters because behind every product liability case is a person. Preventable injuries affect careers, families, independence, finances, and futures.
What Compensation May Be Available in a Product Liability Case?
A serious product injury can create losses that extend far beyond the first hospital bill. Some people need surgeries, rehabilitation, medication, home assistance, or long-term medical care. Depending on the circumstances and applicable law, recoverable damages may include:
The available damages depend on the facts of the individual case. Michigan law also contains specific provisions governing damages in product liability actions. Severe injuries can affect an entire household. A person who once worked, cared for children, or lived independently may suddenly need daily assistance.
No attorney should promise a particular recovery without examining the evidence. Every injury, product, defendant, and set of damages is different.
How Long Do You Have to File a Product Liability Claim in Michigan?
Legal claims have deadlines. However, determining the deadline for a Michigan product liability case requires more than choosing a date from a general online chart. The applicable time limit can depend on factors such as:
- The type of claim
- When the injury occurred
- The circumstances surrounding the injury
- The parties involved
- Other facts affecting the applicable legal deadline
Waiting also creates practical problems. A damaged product can disappear. A vehicle may be repaired, sold, salvaged, or destroyed. Packaging and receipts can be discarded, and important records may become harder to locate. That is why early investigation can matter even when someone believes plenty of time remains. Preserving evidence and identifying potentially responsible parties can take time.
Do not assume you know your filing deadline based on another person’s case. Speak with an attorney about the specific circumstances surrounding your injury.
Holding Companies Accountable Can Help Protect the Next Person
A defective product injury can leave you questioning something you once trusted without a second thought. You may also be facing medical treatment, missed work, pain, or a future that suddenly looks different. You should not have to investigate a corporation, manufacturer, or nationwide product chain by yourself.
At Joumana Law, we believe accountability matters because people matter. A legal case can seek compensation for someone already harmed while demanding answers from those responsible for product safety. When preventable failures hurt people, we are prepared to investigate what happened and fight for the people living with the consequences.
You Were Hurt. Let Joumana Law Fight for What Comes Next.
If a defective product, dangerous drug, or medical device seriously injured you or someone you love, talk with our team. We can review the circumstances, examine potential sources of responsibility, and discuss the legal options that may be available.
Explore Related Michigan Injury Pages
24370 Northwest Highway
Southfield, MI 48075
Legal Disclaimer
Every case is different. This page provides general educational information and is not legal advice. The existence, value and legal viability of any claim depend on the particular facts, applicable law, insurance coverage and jurisdiction. Listing a case type does not mean Joumana Law will accept or directly handle every matter. Depending on the circumstances, location and legal issues involved, the firm may work with qualified co-counsel or refer a matter to another attorney. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Speak with a lawyer about your individual rights and any deadlines that may apply.

.avif)