Assume that Big Drug Company (BDC) was one of ten drug manufacturers that produced and sold a drug in Ohio that was found to cause cancer in men whose mothers had taken the drug while pregnant. Plaintiff cannot find out if the pills his mother took were actually manufactured by BDC, but he does know that BDC controlled 40 percent of the market for that drug in Ohio when his mother was taking it. If a jury finds that plaintiff suffered $100,000 in damages, he will be able to collect $40,000 from BDC if his state follows the doctrine of .

Market share liability

Explanation:

To understand the doctrine of market share liability, it is important to first know the meaning of market share itself.

Market share refers to the percentage of the overall sales of a particular industry that is generated by a company. It calculated by dividing the total sales of the firm during a specified period by the aggregate sales of the industry during the same period. This gives an idea what the size of a company is compared with its competitors in the industry.

From the question, market share of BDC for that drug i Ohio is believed to be 40% when the mother of the plaintiff was taking it.

Market share liability is a legal doctrine unique to the law of the U.S. which gives an opportunity to a plaintiff who sustained an injury from a fungible product to establish a prima facie case against the product based on the market share of the manufacturers of that product, regardless of whether or not knows the actual producer of the product.

Therefore, the state of the plaintiff follows the doctrine of market share liability if he is able to collect $40,000 which from BDC out of the $100,000.

Note:

The $40,000 is obtained after applying 40% market share of BDC to the $100,000 total damages.

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