Major changes are on the horizon in Michigan for manufacturers and sellers of pharmaceutical products approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Since 1995, such manufacturers and sellers have enjoyed immunity from product liability suits pursuant to the Michigan Product Liability Act (MPLA). The statute has successfully barred thousands of plaintiffs from obtaining recovery and discouraged countless others from being filed.

But no more.

Effective February 13, blanket immunity will be lifted, and pharmaceutical manufacturers and sellers will be subject to product liability for defective products pursuant to changes to the MPLA approved by the Michigan legislature in S.B. 410. While undoubtedly a welcome change for plaintiffs, drug manufacturers and sellers are now grappling with the scope of their liability. While it is clear that there is no longer drugmaker immunity in cases where the plaintiff is injured after February 13, there is a question as to whether the new law applies to cases already filed or cases where the plaintiff is injured before the effective date but files suit after the effective date.

Read the Law360 article here.