Important Steps in a Georgia Product Liability Claim

A person who is harmed—or the family of someone who is killed—by a defective device or product has the right to bring a product liability claim against the responsible parties. Products may include automobiles, toys, medical devices, electronics, and more. In a product defect case, anyone in the supply chain, from the manufacturer through the retailer, can be held strictly liable for the physical and emotional pain, medical bills, and lost wages of the injured person.

How to demonstrate strict liability in a product defect case

Strictly liable means there is no need to prove fault. If the following key elements can be proved, the plaintiff should then be entitled to full damages:

• An injury or death occurred. The nature of the injuries, or confirmation of death, must be demonstrated. In fatal cases, a death certificate is used to prove the death. In injury cases, the reports, medical records and bills, and testimony of the treating doctors are used.
• A product is defective. The product must be shown to have been defective at the time it was used and at the time it left the control of the defendant(s). Products can be defective if:
  • They were improperly designed
  • They were poorly or improperly made
  • The operating instructions or marketing materials were inaccurate.

Sometimes proving that there was a defect can be fairly obvious. Most times, a product safety engineer or design expert is hired to show exactly how the product was defective.

• The defect caused death or injury. Your ability to prove fault in a product liability case hinges on demonstrating that the injuries or death occurred as a direct result of the product malfunctioning. Often, a product expert, in combination with your doctors, can show that the death or injuries were due to the defect. The key word in this item is caused. It is the link between the product defect and the injury/death. For example, someone who is ill may die from taking a drug for arthritis. The defense might argue that he or she would have died even without taking the drug, either because of the patient’s age or because of a preexisting illness. A strict liability claim would require showing that the defective drug “caused” the death.
• The victim was using the product as it was intended. Here, the test is how an ordinary consumer would have used the product. If you were using your microwave to cook food and the microwave catches fire and causes you to be burned, that is an expected use. If you got burned because you were using the microwave to heat a cup that clearly states “not for use in microwave,” you likely would not have a case.

Additional theories of liability in product defect cases

There are other ways in which the makers and sellers of products can be held liable for injuries or death their products cause, such as:

• Negligence. Atlanta product defect lawyers work with experts to show that the designers and others failed to take reasonable steps, such as thorough testing, to make their products safe.
• Breach of express warranty. This is a contractual statement, usually in writing, that the product being sold will work in a specific way.
• Breach of implied warranty. The makers of devices, drugs, and goods give an implied warranty (even if there is no formal contract) that their products are fit for their stated purpose, that they are merchantable (worth the price paid for them), and are of workmanlike quality.
• A failure to warn. Manufacturers have a duty to warn that the product may pose certain dangers. A common example is that drug manufacturers should disclose possible side effects and indicate when interactions with other drugs could be dangerous. The injured person or family of the deceased must show that:
  • The risk was not obvious.
  • The person who used the product used it correctly or in a reasonably predictable manner.
  • There was no warning, or the warning was unclear.

You have rights if a product fails. At Harris Lowry Manton LLP our Atlanta product liability attorneys have the professional expert network, the resources, and the trial experience to prepare and litigate product liability claims. For help now, please call us at 912-651-9967 in Savannah or 404-961-7650 in Atlanta. You can also complete our contact form to arrange a consultation with a tested Georgia trial lawyer.