Product manufacturers in the United States are held to certain standards when it comes to the products they make for sale to the public. These standards help to establish and maintain a level of accountability on the part of the manufacturers in order to ensure that consumers are kept safe when using their products. Over the last several years there has been a significant number of products imported into the US from China that have been of questionable quality and which have made products liability lawsuits increasingly complex. Filing suit against a Chinese manufacturer for a defective product purchased at a department store in Atlanta can be extremely challenging.
There are essentially three legal theories under which a manufacturer can be found liable for an injury or death sustained by a defective product under Georgia law.
Implied Warranties
Contract-based grounds for products liability that are recognized by Georgia law are established by the Uniform Commercial Code. Under implied warranty theories, “privity of contract” is mandatory for recovery in Georgia. That is to say, only the individual who purchased the defective product or someone in their immediate household can make a recovery.
Negligence
Negligence is one of the most common ways that a manufacturer can be sued for a defective product. Such negligence can come in many forms such as:
- Failure to issue an adequate recall notice
- Failure to adequately test and inspect the product
- Failure to provide adequate instructions, labels, and warnings
- Negligent design
Manufacturers may also be liable even without proof of negligence if a defective product has caused injury or death. This is known as “Strict Liability”.
Strict Liability
Strict liability, as mentioned above, holds the manufacturer accountable even if proof of negligence is not forthcoming. Persons who have been injured by what they believe is a defective product should consult an experienced and competent attorney as soon as possible.
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