Product Liability

Product Liability Lawyers Serving All of Georgia

Georgia consumers have a right to certain expectations when they are using a product. As Americans, when we use products, we assume that they are safe and that they will not hurt us. We never think that a product we bought from a store will injure us. In reality, your life can become turned upside down in an instant due to a dangerous, defective product.

When product manufacturers use dangerous designs, fail to test their products for defects, or create their products with unsafe materials, the victims might have a valid claim for compensation. Companies have a duty to place effective warnings on their products.

Our Dangerous Product Attorneys Can Help

If a malfunctioning or defective product caused you or your loved one to suffer serious injuries, you might have a right to compensation for your injuries. Additionally, if your loved one tragically died as a result of a defective product, the law firm of Rice McGowan & Brandt can help. Our law firm has handled many product liability cases with successful results. The sooner you file your product liability lawsuit, the better. We encourage you to reach out to Rice McGowan & Brandt as soon as possible to schedule your free initial consultation to discuss your case in detail.

Types of Product Liability Lawsuits in Georgia

There are numerous different types of product liability lawsuits that consumers can bring against product manufacturers and distributors. Some of the most common types of product liability cases involve the following:

• Electric hand tools that cause injuries, such as multimeters, saws, drills, and voltmeters
• Household products such as propane tanks and space heaters
• Kitchen appliances such as refrigerators, dishwashers, and ovens
• Children’s toys
• Industrial machines that are used in factories
• Construction equipment and machinery
• Dangerous auto parts
• Dangerous drugs or pharmaceuticals

What Do You Need to Prove in a Product Liability Lawsuit?

You will need to prove that a retailer or manufacturer failed to prove secure and safe products. If you have suffered an injury from a product, you will need to prove certain elements to succeed in your lawsuit. As the plaintiff in a lawsuit, you will need to prove one of the following three things:

• That the product was designed in a defective way
• That the product was manufactured defectively
• That there was a failure to adequately warn the consumer of the risks, meaning the product was marketed defectively

Defective Design

In a defective design lawsuit, you will need to show the designers of the product did not design it to be as safe as it could have been in order to serve its intended purpose. To succeed, you will need to provide evidence that the design of the product was inherently flawed. You will also need to prove that they could have used another, safer design.

Manufacturing Defect

While a product might be designed well, something could go wrong while it was being manufactured, assembled, or packaged. In these types of cases, the product did not match the intended design when it left the facility. These types of alterations can make a product dangerous. This type of defect can impact just one item or a group of items.

Failure to Warn

The last type of product liability defect is a warning defect. While many products have inherent risks, even when they are used as intended, some types of products need instructions to prevent people from using them in a way that is unsafe. When manufacturers fail to provide these necessary warnings, the injured person might have a right to file a product liability lawsuit.

Elements in a Product Liability Case

In all of these types of product liability lawsuits, the injured party, or plaintiff, will need to prove the following basic elements:

• The product in question was defective at the time the plaintiff suffered an injury
• The product’s defect caused the injury
• When the product injured the plaintiff, it was in the same condition it had been in when it left the manufacturer’s production facility
• The plaintiff used the product in question the way that the manufacturer intended the product to be used

Examples of Successful Product Liability Cases in Georgia

There is a wide-ranging list of typical product liability cases. Many of them involve car parts and motor vehicles. Tires are common culprits when it comes to defective products causing people injuries. Some of the largest product liability cases are extremely well known.

In 2002, cigarette manufacturer Philip Morris was ordered by a court to pay $28 billion in punitive damages and $850,000 in compensatory damages in a product liability lawsuit. The woman claimed that the company’s failure to warn her of the risks of smoking caused her to continue smoking. She eventually developed lung cancer.

Other personal injury lawsuits have included silicone breast implants that caused injuries, rupturing, bodily damage, scleroderma, and death. In another similar lawsuit, car manufacturer GM had to pay over $4.9 million in punitive damages for a faulty gas tank on their 1979 Malibu which caused gas tanks to explode and kill six different people.

Georgia Laws Provide Remedies for Product Defects

There are several different federal and state laws designed for the protection of the consumer. In 1990, Georgia passed the “lemon law.” The Georgia Department of Law Consumer Protection Unit has many resources on their behalf. This group cannot act as a personal attorney, however. If you would like to seek compensation for injuries caused by a defective product, you need to speak with an experienced lawyer as soon as possible. Your lawyer can help you file a lawsuit to seek compensation.

Contact Our Experienced Atlanta Product Liability Lawyers

If you suffered an injury from a defective product, it is essential that you contact an experienced lawyer as soon as possible. You might be able to recover damages for all of your past and future medical costs, pain, suffering, and for other losses associated with the defective product. Contact the Atlanta-based product liability lawyers at Rice McGowan & Brandt today to schedule your free initial consultation.

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