Product Liability Lawyers

The government agency primarily responsible for monitoring consumer goods is the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC - www.cpsc.gov ); however, there are many federal agencies which regulate specific consumer goods and consumables (such as food). Despite their best efforts, consumers are continually injured through use of defective products. When consumers are injured through use of a product, even when the injury results from the normal and expected use of that product, there may be a right to compensation. The ability to obtain compensation has developed into a specialized area of law commonly referred to as ‘products liability law.’

‘Products liability law’ is a specialized form of personal injury law. It is based on state law, specifically the legal principles of negligence, strict liability, and breach of warranty, and varies from state to state. In general, products liability law developed to address injuries resulting from the placement of manufactured products into the ‘stream of commerce’ or ‘marketplace.’ In other words, product liability law developed to ensure the safety of a product before it is made available for sale to a consumer. Where safety is not assured, product liability law establishes rules for determining responsibility for injuries stemming from the use of a defective or dangerous product. This law often makes it easier to recover damages when compared to methods of recovery under traditional forms of personal injury law. A defective or dangerous product is defined as one having a design defect, manufacturing defect, or marketing defect.

Design defects stem from the initial design of the product. Such defects produce dangerous products even when manufactured properly. Manufacturing defects occur during the manufacturing process. In manufacture, an error occurs that results in a product that, despite its proper design and use, can result in injury. Marketing defects are those that, despite proper design and manufacture, are marketed inappropriately to consumers. Marketing material includes product labeling, instructions for use, and usage warnings. Inappropriate marketing may result in the masking of inherent dangers or flaws that, despite proper use, result in injury. In some cases, products are inherently dangerous and no design, manufacture, or marketing efforts will prevent all injury during use. These products, such as dynamite and knives, must be adequately marked with proper warnings so that consumers are effectively informed of the inherent dangers.

Every year, thousands of consumers sustain serious injuries from dangerous and defective products. Products liability litigation arises from the use of defective products, the defect often caused by a design or manufacturing flaw or from use of a product that is unreasonably dangerous because of inadequate instructions or warnings. Often injuries result from the simple fact that the product was not sufficiently tested prior to distribution, despite its use in the normal and expected manner. Regardless of the reason, injured persons are often entitled to compensation for injuries sustained through use of a defective product. Compensation can be sought from any entity or person who engaged in the designed, manufacture, or sale of an injury causing item. Even entities that manufactured a component part of the injury causing item can be held liable for damages.

There are three legal theories in Georgia under which an injured person may recover compensation for injuries: negligence, strict liability, and breach of implied warranty. Under a negligence theory a party may be held liable for an injury if it has failed to exercise ordinary care in the design, manufacture, testing, marketing, or sale of a product. Where the responsible party is not liable under the theory of negligence, strict liability and breach of implied warranty may provide opportunities for recovery.

A party may be held strictly liable for an injury where a product is sold to a person in the regular course of business and that person is injured because of the use or consumption of the product, or is otherwise adversely affected if the product, when sold, was not merchantable or reasonably suited for its intended use, if the condition is the proximate cause of the injury. Wrongful death claims are properly made, in Georgia, under a theory of strict liability. The requirement of sale ‘in the regular course of business’ likely shields a non-business seller of items from liability, including a private individual selling items at a garage sale. Further, in Georgia, manufacturers that are not also sellers of a product can sometimes be protected from liability under the strict liability doctrine.

Under the implied warranty doctrine there are implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular use. The implied warranty of merchantability requires that a product be safe for the use intended by the seller. The implied warranty of fitness requires that a product be safe for the use intended by the buyer. Therefore, to recover under the implied warranty doctrine in Georgia, there must be ‘privity of contract.’ ‘Privity of contract’ requires that the injury causing item have been sold to the person injured through its use, or that the injured person be someone who could have both foreseeably used and been injured by that product. An employee of a company does not meet this definition in Georgia; thus, an employee injured during use of a product the company purchased cannot recover from the seller under the theory of implied warranty. Also, wrongful death claims may not be based on a theory of ‘privity of contract’ in Georgia.

Regardless of the mode of compensation, products liability litigation serves not only to compensate injured parties but to provide incentives to manufacturers to take greater care when designing, manufacturing, and distributing a product intended for sale. With respect to compensation for damages, the injured consumer may recover reimbursement for medical expenditures and lost wages, as well as damages for disabilities, physical pain and suffering, and emotional distress. Punitive damages, intended to punish a manufacturer that acts in an egregious manner, are available where it can be proven that the injury causing item was allowed to enter into the marketplace with a reckless or intentional disregard for consumer safety.

If you have been injured as a result of the use of a defective product and would like to obtain the assistance of counsel, please contact  Mark L. Stuckey, LLC. We will discuss your case and analyze the merits in an honest and forth-right manner. Our primary goals will be to assist in the preservation of your rights and in obtaining adequate, allowable compensation for your injury.

Product Liability Lawyers

t o p