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Skilled Product Injury Attorney in Georgia
In the modern age, we place our trust in a wide variety of important goods — cars, equipment, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, car seats, etc. When these items are defective, they can cause catastrophic injuries and even wrongful deaths.
Many of the products you use in your everyday life arrived in your home after a long, complicated journey. The various components of your car, for example, may have been manufactured by hundreds of different companies. One company might make the valve stems in your tires, while another might produce the mechanism that deploys your airbags in an accident. All of these component parts are assembled into the final vehicle by its manufacturer (Ford, Toyota, GMC, etc.). A distributor, wholesaler, importer, or other “middle man” then distributes a large quantity of the given vehicle model to dealerships across a certain region of the country. That dealership then sells you the car. Many products follow this exact same path from the manufacturer to your home.
In some states, a person injured by a defective product can make a claim against any company in this “chain of distribution,” regardless of who caused the defect. If she was hurt by a defective saw, for example, she could sue the store where she bought it, even if the saw arrived at and left the store in sealed package. She could also sue the company that made the saw, and the wholesaler who bought the saw in bulk from the manufacturer and then sold it to the store. Her lawsuit in this situation would be called a product liability case.
The law of product liability exists to help protect people from defective products. A product liability claim may take many forms — it might involve a failure to warn users of hidden dangers, or a problem with the design that the manufacturer should have noticed before placing the product in commerce.
If you or a loved one have been injured by a defective product, this page might provide helpful information. It is always best, however, to speak to a skilled product liability attorney.
Georgia Product Liability Law
Georgia has a complex and sometimes challenging product liability system. As discussed above, many states allow an injured person to make a product liability claim against any company in the “chain of distribution” for her injuries regardless of who caused the defect. In these states, the plaintiff can sue the store that sold her a defective saw, even if the saw was in a package and had not been assembled, modified, or otherwise touched by the store employees. This is an important point, as manufacturing and distributing companies are often located in foreign countries and not subject to lawsuits in the United States. Unfortunately, Georgia law includes a wholesale ban on product liability claims against distributors and retailers, unless they played a role in the design or manufacture of the product.
Critically, however, an injured person may still have several claims against the retailer of a defective product. If the injured person or a member of his family bought the product directly from the store, for example, he may be able to assert a claim for “breach of the implied warranty of merchantability” against the seller. If the seller had reason to know about the defect before the injury occurred, he may also be able to assert a claim for failure to warn.
Given these nuances, it is crucial to talk to a Georgia product liability attorney as soon as possible after an injury.
Products That Commonly Cause Injuries
- Car parts — car wrecks are often caused by defective tires, brakes, or drivetrain components. Airbags may also fail in an accident, or they might deploy when they are not supposed to (causing injuries and even a wreck if they deploy while the driver is still controlling the car).
- Medical devices — product liability cases often arise from defective medical devices, such as pacemakers, joint replacements, and hernia mesh.
- Lawn equipment — a piece of lawn equipment with inadequate safety features can pose a risk of life-altering injury or death.
- Cribs/Strollers/Car Seats — if an item used for or marketed to kids ends up causing an injury, the child (or parents) might have a product liability claim.
- Power tools & machinery — any tool you buy is required to have proper safety features where needed to make the product safe for consumers.
- Safety products — though it seems counterintuitive, some products designed solely to make our lives safer can end up killing or severely injuring people. Smoke detectors are a prime example. It isn’t hard to imagine what could happen if a defective smoke detector fails to wake someone during a fire. Helmets are another example. If a helmet fails to protect a person’s head in a collision for which it would be expected to do so, it is defective. The person could bring a product liability claim.
Injured By A Product You Used? What You Need To Know
1 – Call 911. If you need it, seek medical attention immediately. Having a law enforcement officer and/or EMTs assess your injuries early may help prevent lifelong complications. It may also help preserve critical evidence for use in the future.
2 – Once you have received the medical attention you need, write down any details you can remember about the injury. This may be helpful down the road if you need to file a lawsuit. It can also help your product defect attorney investigate the case.
3 – If you can, make sure you save the product. If you are in a car accident and suspect that your vehicle or one of its parts was responsible, talk to a product injury lawyer before assigning a salvage title to your insurer. Don’t accept the manufacturer or seller’s offer to refund the purchase price. In fact, you should speak with a product liability attorney before you agree to anything with the manufacturer or seller.
4 – Speak with an attorney or law firm that handles product liability cases. An lawyer with experience dealing with product defect injures will be able to listen to your story and assess your options. Most law firms, DSR Law included, will provide you with a free consultation if you have been injured by a product.
5 – Even if it is not obvious that a product was the cause of your injury, do not discount the benefit of speaking to a skilled product liability lawyer. A great example of this situation could arise in a golf cart crash. The braking system in many golf carts is defectively designed and can cause the cart to roll in situations where the driver needs to stop quickly. Often in these types of cases, it isn’t apparent that a product issue injury case in Cobb County, Georgia.
Do I Have A Claim?
If you suffered as a result of a product you used, you may be able to bring a lawsuit against the manufacturer and/or seller to recover your damages. If you want to find out if you have a legal claim and might be entitled to compensation, contact a reputable personal injury attorney with experience in product liability law. If you want me to personally listen to your story and evaluate your case, feel free to reach out to me by phone, text, email, or social media. I’m always happy to give free consultations if you think you might have a claim.
How Long Do I Have To File?
This is one of the most important questions you need to ask if you think you have a product liability claim. Generally, Georgia applies a two-year statute of limitations for personal injury cases, meaning you would have two years from the date of your injury to file a claim.
While this sounds simple (and often can be), it isn’t always easy to do the math for a statute of limitations question. What if you were injured over a long period of time by a medication you have been using for the past decade? When does the two-year clock start in these types of cases? Generally, it will not start until you know (or have reason to know) that your injury is traceable to the medication. That said, this is not a question you should try to answer on your own. Instead, call an experienced personal injury attorney who specializes in product liability cases.
Another time-sensitive issue in product liability cases is Georgia’s 10-year statute of repose, one of the harshest rules in Georgia personal injury law. Statutes of repose differ from statutes of limitation in that they are tied to the first sale or use of the product, rather than the injury. In other words, Georgia law provides that many product liability claims are time-barred unless they are filed within ten years of the date the product first made it to a consumer. The clock doesn’t restart if the product is sold — so if a person buys a new car in 1999 and then sells it used to someone else in 2008, the new owner will only have a year left on the statute of repose. Shockingly, if a defect in the car causes the second owner to get into an accident in 2014, many of her product liability claims could be time-barred. In other words, a product liability claim might be barred by the statute of repose before the injury even occurs. The statute does not apply to certain claims, however, including failures to warn. Given the complexity of these issues, it is critical to talk with a product liability attorney as soon as possible.
Contact Our Georgia Product Liability Lawyer Now
Find an experienced product liability lawyer – claims like this can be challenging to navigate, so having a reliable attorney to guide you through the legal process is key.
If you’ve been hurt and suspect that it might have been caused by a defective product or malfunction, don’t hesitate to reach out. It’s free to have your case evaluated, and if you do have a case, we can move forward with your claim. Whether you need medical bills covered or have suffered emotional pain and trauma, it’s worth talking with a seasoned veteran about the potential value of your case.