Can I sue a manufacturer for injuries caused by a defective product in Ontario?

Yes. A manufacturer owes a duty of care to the people who will ultimately use its products, even without any direct contract between them, and can be sued in negligence for injuries caused by a defective product. These claims generally fall into one of a few categories: a design defect, where the product was inherently unsafe as designed even if made correctly; a manufacturing defect, where a specific unit departed from its intended design during production; or inadequate warnings or instructions about a known risk, which is addressed further in a related question.

To succeed, you generally need to show the product was defective in one of these ways, that the defect caused your injury, and that the manufacturer fell below the standard expected of a reasonably careful designer or maker of that type of product in the circumstances. Distributors and retailers can sometimes also face claims depending on their specific role in the chain of supply. These cases are often technically complex and rely heavily on expert engineering or scientific evidence to establish what went wrong and why, which makes early evidence preservation - keeping the product itself, packaging, and any related documentation - particularly important.