Understanding Georgia Product Defect Laws

You are riding on your lawn mower in your backyard. Suddenly, out of nowhere, the mower explodes severely burning your legs. Do you have a personal injury claim against the manufacturer of the lawn mower? Answer: possibly. This type of incident falls under the concept of product liability. This is a legal term referring to a claim alleging that a consumer product failed to work properly and/or failed to work as it was foreseeably intended and caused significant harm. Defective products can include household appliances, children’s toys, garden equipments, hardware, tools, furniture, firearms, sports goods, motor vehicles, medical devices, prescription and/or over-the-counter drugs, ready-to-eat food items, beverages and so forth. Product liability cases can also include a wide range of modern industrial, commercial, construction or agricultural machinery.

Types of Product Defect Injuries

Depending on the situation, a defective product can cause significant injuries, or even death. For example:

• Choking hazards in products meant for little kids;

• Lead paint or other toxic paints that can seriously affect the user’s health;

• Electrical wiring issues prompting a fire;

• Food products or beverages when past their expiry date;

• Absence of warnings labels and/or user manuals in consumer products;

• Defective seat belts, door locks, latches, seats or airbags in cars;

• Safety issues with doctor prescribed medications or over-the-counter medicines; and

• Life-threatening side effects associated with prescription drugs.

Georgia Defective Product Laws

Product liability laws are state-based, meaning that each state may have its own set of laws pertaining to the legal standards for pursuing a defective product injury, or wrongful death, claim. Under Georgia law, there are three ways in which a product can be defective.

First, the product can be defective by design – that is, the product’s basic design is imperfect. For example it can be some furniture with excessively sharp edges, or a garden sprinkler that does not rotate uniformly due to some defect in its design.

Second, the product can have a defect during manufacturing, for example a laptop with defective battery or a moped without its brake pads.

Third, the product can also be said to be defective if there is a failure to warn, that is if the manufacturers fail to attach any warning label to the product saying it may not be suitable below certain age or should not be used beyond a certain temperature. Examples can be found in children’s toys with small parts that do not declare that it can be a choking hazard for children below the age of three.

Speak to an Experienced Georgia Defective Product Injury Lawyer Today

If you or a loved one was seriously harmed by a defective product like a prescription drug, toy, tool, etc. do not hesitate to reach out to an experienced product defect attorney. Gillette Law, P.A. has years of experience and is ready to speak to you about your potential case. We offer a free initial consultation to discuss your case and determine the best path forward. Also, we work on a contingency fee basis. This means you only pay the firm on a percentage basis if we win your defective product case.