Product Liability
Cannella Snyder holds manufacturers, distributors, and others responsible for dangerous product defects.
Overview
Companies that make consumer, industrial, and health products have a duty to the public to ensure that their products are safe. Under Georgia law, manufacturers must avoid any manufacturing defects, design errors, or misleading instructions and advertising. Defective products can kill, cause catastrophic injuries, or create permanent physical harm and emotional harm. For instance, motor vehicle accidents are the leading cause of injury and death across the country. But sometimes survivable collisions result in serious injury or death because of automotive defects. When defective products cause catastrophic injury, create permanent harm, or end a loved one’s life, the lawyers at Cannella Snyder work tirelessly to hold all responsible parties accountable.
At Cannella Snyder, we work with engineers and product safety experts to investigate whether a product was defective and caused your injuries. Our legal team has over 40 years’ combined experience and substantial legal resources to prevail in all types of products liability claims. We have taken on the largest manufacturers and recovered millions of dollars for injured victims and their loved ones.
Our work holding product manufacturers responsible for the defects in their products has also increased awareness of dangerous products. It has forced manufacturers to confront the human cost of ignoring dangerous defects. And it has given our clients, who have suffered the greatest losses, the knowledge that their decision to fight for justice may spare another family from suffering the same loss.
Case Types
We represent defective product clients in a variety of cases. The following are examples of the types of cases we handle throughout the country.
DEFECTIVE VEHICLE PARTS
- Airbag Failure
- Faulty seatbelt design
- Car seat defects
- Defective brakes or hydraulics
- Truck, van, or SUV rollovers
- Structural failures
- Lift kit defects
- Roof collapse or failure
- Tire blowouts or defective tire design
- Crash avoidance technology failures
Heavy Machinery Defects
Defective children’s toys & products
Defective Consumer Products
Frequently Asked Questions
A products liability claim empowers a person to hold a manufacturer, designer, seller, and, in some cases, a distributor liable for injuries caused by defective products. Under Georgia law, these claims generally fall into three categories:
- Design defects. These defects exist when the product’s actual design makes the product dangerous. Examples include seatbelts that spool out too much in a crash, airbags that don’t deploy in a collision, placing the gas tank in an unsafe location, a chest of drawers that topples over too easy, clothing that catches fire too easily, electrical cords that melt despite only normal use, and more.
- Manufacturing defects. These defects arise when a product is properly designed, but there is an error during the manufacturing process makes the product dangerous. Examples include a misfire by a machine press that ruins a product’s integrity and foreign contaminants in food or consumable products.
- Failure to warn/label defects. These defects occur when the manufacturer does not warn foreseeable users—either at all or adequately—about the product’s potential dangers or risks. Examples include an automotive manufacturer not telling the public that a problem with the ignition switches in its cars can cause those cars to turn off while in motion and an opioid manufacturer not warning doctors, pharmacists, or the public about a drug’s risk of addiction (or purposely omitting key information).
Under Georgia law, anyone injured by a defective product can bring a products liability claim within two years of the injury. The person bringing the claim does not have to be the person who purchased—or even used—the product. Because Georgia is a “strict liability” state, you do not need to prove negligence to bring a claim. To prevail at trial, you must generally show:
- The defendant was the manufacturer of the product (as defined by law);
- The product had a defect—in its manufacturing, design, or warnings;
- The defect caused your injury, or the injury or death of a loved one;
- The injured person was using the product as intended or expected; and
- The product’s general condition was the same as when it left the manufacturer.
Our products liability attorneys represent people seriously injured by a defective product. Some common types of cases we pursue are:
- Vehicle defects. Vehicle defects can prevent a car from stopping in time, steering correctly, accelerating safely, or cause other problems that make the car unsafe and cause collisions. Poor manufacturing, design, or warnings can turn products intended for safety—seatbelts, airbags, headrests, and roofs—into the agents of harm.
- Defective machinery. Both at home and at work, heavy machines like forklifts, cranes, presses, power tools, and other construction equipment often cause severe injuries or death.
- Medical devices. From the mundane to the lifesaving, medical devices like pacemakers, heart stents, defibrillators, hip replacements, and biomedical products harm instead of help patients.
- Other products. Our lawyers know how to succeed against large manufacturing corporations. The strategies and resources we have developed apply to all product liability cases—we push for the evidence and the truth that will bring you the best results, no matter the size of the defendant.
At Cannella Snyder, our lawyers understand the complexities of products liability litigation. We are ready to help you get justice for injuries caused by defective products. Your defective product lawyer will investigate what happened, and if supported by the evidence, help you prove that the defect caused your injuries.
All Cannella Snyder’s products liability cases are handled on a contingency basis. That means you pay nothing out of pocket to retain the firm or for expenses incurred during the case. We get paid only if there is a recovery. If there is, we receive a percentage of the recovery and recoup the expenses we paid. At Cannella Snyder, there are no upfront costs or consultation fees. And if there is no recovery, you owe the firm nothing.