Three Grounds for Pursuing Products Liability Claims

Georgia courts have been busy with high-profile products liability cases over the past year. In May 2022, the Georgia Supreme Court allowed a personal injury lawsuit against Snapchat to proceed after an allegation that its speed filter caused a motor vehicle accident. In August 2022, a Georgia jury awarded a $1.7 billion verdict against Ford in a trial involving rollover accidents. And in March 2023, a Georgia jury found for the defendants in a case against opioid drug distributors. The vast differences between the products involved in these cases — software, vehicles, and pharmaceuticals — illustrate the breadth of products liability law. Below, our Tifton product liability attorneys explain the three grounds for pursuing products liability claims, regardless of the type of product at issue. 

Manufacturing Defect 

The first major ground of products liability claims are manufacturing defect claims. Manufacturing defects are defects in products that were not intended. They typically arise when a product departs from its intended design in a way that renders the product more dangerous than consumers would expect it to be. Manufacturing defects tend to occur during the manufacturing or production process and affect only a single product or a small group of products. 

Examples of manufacturing defects include: 

• Incorrectly attached parts 
• Improperly installed electrical components 
• Leaving sharp edges on a finished product
• Using inferior materials to manufacture a product 
• Improper assembly 

Design Defect

The second major ground of products liability claims are design defect claims. Design defects are defects in products that are inherent to their design, making them unreasonably dangerous for consumers to use. They occur at the design stage of product development and, as such, tend to affect an entire product line rather than a single product or group of products. 

Examples of design defects include: 

• Inadequate safety guards
• Structurally unstable products
• Choking hazards in children’s products
• Products made with toxic materials 
• Products that improperly use flammable materials 

Failure to Warn 

The third major ground of products liability claims are failure to warn claims. Unlike the other two grounds, failure to warn claims do not allege that there is anything defective about the product. Rather, they allege that the manufacturer failed to provide adequate warnings or instructions about the safe use of the product and that the failure to warn resulted in injury. These claims typically arise when the danger of the product is not obvious to the ordinary consumer. 

Examples of failure to warn claims include: 

• Failure to warn of side effects 
• Failure to warn of the danger of electric shock 
• Failure to warn about weight limits 
• Failure to warn about overuse 
• Failure to warn about improper installation 

Hold Manufacturers Liable With Help From a Tifton Product Liability Attorney 

Defective products can cause serious injuries. However, the manufacturers and sellers of such products often are large corporations with well-funded legal departments, making them difficult to prevail against in many cases. To maximize your chances of success on a products liability claim, please contact the Tifton product liability attorneys at the Hudson Injury Firm by calling 229-396-5848 or using our online form.