Product Liability in Georgia
Many different products are available to Georgia residents. However, some of these products carry untold dangers and risks. When we buy a children’s toy or a car, we do not expect to be hurt because the product did not perform as advertised. We expect manufacturers and designers to warn us if they are aware of a risk that we are not, or else not sell the product. If you or a loved one has been seriously hurt because a product was defectively designed, defectively manufactured or failed to carry appropriate warnings, contact Micheal Braun, an experienced Atlanta products liability attorney, for advice and representation. Michael Braun serves those injured in the greater Atlanta area and Georgia.
Strict Liability for Defective Products
The list of products that can severely hurt or kill a consumer if produced or designed inappropriately is very long: motor vehicles and all their parts, pharmaceuticals, toys, medical devices, furniture and mechanical or electrical tools. The law recognizes that manufacturers are in a better position to discover a product defect and decide how to correct the defect or warn consumers than consumers are. Product liability lawsuits have helped nudge manufacturers to be more careful in their manufacturing and testing processes.
There are three ways a product can be defective. It can have a flaw introduced in manufacturing such as a safety device that is inadvertently not attached at the right phase. Or it can be flawed by design, such as a product intended for elderly people, which has a tripping hazard built into it. It can also be defective when the manufacturers can foresee of a particular hazard in using the product, even though that use is not intended.
Under O.C.G.A. § 51-1-11, any manufacturer of personal property sold as a new product is held to a strict liability standard for personal injuries caused by the product. Strict liability means that a plaintiff need not show negligence or a failure to meet any particular standard of care in discovering a defect. A plaintiff pursuing a strict liability products lawsuit need only prove: (1) the defendant manufactured the product, (2) the product was defective when it left the manufacturer’s control, and (3) that the defect actually and proximately caused his or her injury. In Georgia a company is considered a manufacturer if it actually designs or manufactures products, or if it manufactured the product in question, or if it assembles component parts and sells the resulting product under its own name.
Speak to an Atlanta Products Liability Attorney
Cases involving product liabilities can be especially expensive and difficult. Often the defendant is a large corporation with significant resources to drag out litigation. Additionally, there may be complicated technical issues about design, its dangerousness, or the cause of its failure. Sometimes multiple experts are necessary to understand the failure at issue. It is important to retain an attorney who understands this area of Georgia law, knows experts who can help evaluate and build a case, and how a jury is likely to react to the facts.
If you have been injured by a product that was defectively designed or manufactured or that did not provide an appropriate warning, the experienced Atlanta products liability attorneys of Jackson & Braun may be able to sue the manufacturer on your behalf. We serve clients who have been injured by a defective product in DeKalb, Cobb, Fulton, and Clayton Counties, Jonesboro, Decatur, and the Metro-Atlanta area.. Contact us at (770) 421-6888 or via our online form..