A plain-English guide | Reams Law | November 2026

A space heater catches fire. An e-bike battery explodes while charging. A ladder buckles, a pressure cooker lid blows off, a car’s airbag fails to deploy. When a product injures you while you were using it the way it was meant to be used, Oklahoma law may hold the companies that made and sold it responsible — without requiring you to prove they were careless.

The first hours and days after a defective product injury in Oklahoma often decide whether a case can be proven. Here is what to do and what the law provides.

Step one: keep the product

The product itself is the most important piece of evidence you will ever have. Experts need to examine it to identify the defect.

• Do not throw it away, repair it, or return it to the store or manufacturer — even if they offer a refund or replacement.
• Keep every piece, including broken parts, the battery or charger, packaging, manual, and warning labels.
• Store it somewhere safe and leave it in its post-incident condition.
• Save the receipt, order confirmation, or bank record showing where and when you bought it.
• Photograph the product, the scene, and your injuries.

If an insurance company or a fire investigator wants to take the product, talk to a lawyer first so it is preserved and all sides can inspect it.

How Oklahoma product liability works

Since Kirkland v. General Motors Corp. (1974), Oklahoma has recognized “manufacturers’ products liability,” a form of strict liability. The injured person must generally show that:

1. The product was defective when it left the defendant’s control;
2. The defect made the product unreasonably dangerous to an ordinary user; and
3. The defect caused the injury.

A defect can be a manufacturing defect (this unit was built wrong), a design defect (every unit is dangerous), or a failure to warn (missing or inadequate instructions and warnings).

Who can be held responsible

• The manufacturer of the product and of defective component parts;
• Importers and distributors;
• Retailers and other sellers — although an Oklahoma statute (76 O.S. § 57.2) limits claims against sellers that did not manufacture the product, with exceptions, such as where the seller exercised substantial control over the design or labeling, altered the product, made its own express representations, or where the manufacturer cannot be reached or is insolvent.

Identifying the right defendants early matters, particularly with products made overseas and sold through online marketplaces.

Deadlines

Most Oklahoma product liability claims must be filed within two years of the injury (12 O.S. § 95). If someone died, the wrongful death deadline is also two years. Waiting also risks losing the product, the purchase records, and witnesses.

What you can recover

Medical expenses, lost income and earning capacity, pain and suffering, disfigurement and permanent impairment, property damage, and — where a company knew of the danger and sold the product anyway — punitive damages.

Check for a recall — but do not rely on one

Search the Consumer Product Safety Commission (cpsc.gov) and, for vehicles and car seats, NHTSA (nhtsa.gov/recalls). A recall can be strong evidence, but a product does not have to be recalled to be defective, and a recall does not prevent you from bringing a claim.

Frequently asked questions

I was not the person who bought the product. Can I still bring a claim?

Generally yes. Users, family members, and bystanders injured by a defective product can have claims.

What if I was partly at fault?

Misuse of a product and assumption of a known risk can be defenses. Ordinary carelessness in failing to discover a defect generally is not.

The company offered me a refund and a gift card. Should I take it?

Not before getting advice. Accepting may involve returning the product or signing a release.

Talk to Reams Law

Reams Law represents people injured by dangerous and defective products. Call (405) 285-6878 or contact us online. Learn more on our Dangerous Products page.

This article discusses Oklahoma law in general terms. It is not legal advice, and reading it does not make anyone a client of this firm. Statutes change, courts reinterpret them, and the outcome of any matter depends on its own facts. Speak with a lawyer about your situation specifically.