Georgia Product Liability Law: Holding Manufacturers Accountable
Every day, Georgians trust that the products they purchase — cars, appliances, medical devices, tools, children's products, and food — have been designed, manufactured, and labeled with their safety in mind. When manufacturers fail that trust and their defective products cause injuries, Georgia law provides a path to compensation.
Product liability cases pit individual consumers against large corporations with powerful legal teams. Kenneth S. Nugent, P.C. has the resources, technical expertise, and track record to take these cases to trial when necessary and win.
Types of Dangerous Products We Handle
Our product liability attorneys handle defective product cases involving:
- Motor vehicles — defective airbags, brakes, steering systems, fuel systems, seat belts, and tires
- Medical devices — defective hip and knee implants, pacemakers, surgical mesh, and diagnostic equipment
- Pharmaceuticals — drugs with undisclosed side effects or inadequate warnings
- Children's products — toys, car seats, cribs, strollers, and playground equipment
- Power tools and equipment — guard failures, blade defects, and electrical failures
- Household appliances — fire and electrocution risks from stoves, dryers, space heaters
- Industrial machinery — manufacturing equipment that injures workers
- Toxic chemicals and pesticides — improperly labeled or inadequately warned products
- Food and beverage products — contamination and mislabeling
The Role of Expert Witnesses in Product Liability Cases
Product liability cases almost always require expert testimony to explain to a jury why a product was defective and how that defect caused the plaintiff's injury. Our attorneys work with:
- Engineers and product designers who evaluate design defects
- Manufacturing experts who identify production errors
- Accident reconstructionists who connect the defect to the injury mechanism
- Medical experts who document the injury and causation
- Human factors experts who evaluate warnings and instructions
- Economic experts who calculate damages
Assembling this expert team requires both financial resources and extensive professional relationships. We have both.
Strict Liability in Georgia Product Defect Cases
Georgia applies a strict liability standard to design and manufacturing defect cases. This means that a manufacturer can be held liable without proving they were negligent — only that their product was defective and caused injury. This is a powerful doctrine for injured consumers, though manufacturers aggressively challenge both defect theories and causation.
Failure to warn cases require proving that the manufacturer knew of the risk, failed to adequately warn, and that the inadequate warning caused the injury. These cases often involve reviewing internal corporate documents — through the discovery process — to show what the manufacturer knew and when they knew it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Georgia recognizes three types of defects: (1) Manufacturing defects — the product deviates from its intended design due to an error in fabrication; (2) Design defects — the entire product line is inherently unsafe because the design itself is flawed; (3) Marketing defects (failure to warn) — the product lacks adequate warnings or instructions about dangers associated with its use.
Yes — this is critical. Preserve the product exactly as it was at the time of the injury. Do not repair or discard it. This physical evidence is often the most important element of a product liability case. Store it safely and photograph it thoroughly before any further handling.
Possibly. Manufacturers are expected to anticipate foreseeable misuse and either design against it or warn against it. If your use was reasonably foreseeable — even if not the intended use — you may still have a valid claim. Our attorneys evaluate these arguments on a case-by-case basis.
Potentially: the product manufacturer, component part manufacturers, the wholesale distributor, and the retail seller. Georgia's product liability law extends along the entire chain of distribution. Identifying all potentially liable parties — and all available insurance coverage — is one of the first steps our attorneys take.