How To File a Lawsuit for Defective Toys in Georgia

Knowing how to file a lawsuit for defective toys in Georgia is crucial for anyone whose children sustained injuries due to an unsafe product. Children’s toys can pose a wide variety of hazards, including choking risks, and parents can seek compensation on their child’s behalf by filing a product liability lawsuit with the help of an experienced attorney.

Understanding Your Legal Rights After a Toy Injury in Georgia

Following a toy injury in Georgia, you can seek compensation by filing lawsuits against various parties that contributed to the product’s defect. In most cases, the toy’s manufacturer may be liable. However, other parties, such as the retailer that sold the toy or a third party that modified the toy, could also be liable.

Most product liability cases rely on strict liability, which differs from the negligence that most personal injury lawsuits rely on. Rather than proving the manufacturer of the toy was negligent, simply proving that the defect existed and caused your or your child’s injury is enough to hold the at-fault party liable.

Georgia Code Section 9-3-33 provides victims with two years to file lawsuits against the parties that injured them, while Section 51-1-11(b)(2) outlines a 10-year statute of repose that also applies to product liability cases. Combined, these statutes mean you must file your lawsuit within two years of the incident and no later than 10 years after the initial sale of the toy.

Recognizing the Three Types of Toy Defects

Toys can be defective in several ways, including having defects in their design, manufacturing, and marketing. Depending on the type of defect that causes the injury, different parties could be liable, and you may have to provide various types of evidence to support your case.

An experienced product liability lawyer can assist you by identifying the type of defect and gathering the necessary evidence through a thorough investigation.

Design Defects: Inherently Unsafe Toys

Design defects make toys inherently unsafe to use because the defect is always present. For example, a toy targeted at children ages one to three that has small parts inside of it that the child can access and choke on is inherently dangerous. In this case, the fact that the toy was designed with these small parts is the defect.

One of the best ways to prove a design defect is for your lawyer to hire an engineer as an expert witness. This witness will be able to explain what about the design makes it unsafe and how the hazard could have been avoided if the manufacturer hadn’t cut corners.

Manufacturing Defects: Production Errors

Manufacturing defects are those introduced during a toy’s production, but not inherent to its design. For example, during the manufacturing process, a toy may be treated with a toxic chemical that isn’t properly washed off. Or, a toy may become brittle and prone to shattering into sharp pieces if the heat treatment process it undergoes experiences an issue.

These defects can be slightly more challenging to identify since they aren’t inherent to each individual product. However, your lawyer may be able to show that the toy that harmed you or your child experienced a failure that wasn’t normal, such as if the toy broke under a very small amount of pressure.

Marketing Defects: Inadequate Warnings and Age Labels

Marketing defects can be grouped into several subcategories, including the following:

Inadequate Warnings – These defects occur when toys fail to properly warn consumers of the dangers they pose, such as choking risks.
Insufficient Instructions – These defects occur when toys fail to provide sufficient instructions on their safe use, such as failing to warn that electronic toys should be kept away from water.
Misleading Marketing – These defects occur when advertisements make deceptive claims about how a toy can be used safely, such as claiming a toy can withstand a certain amount of weight when it cannot.
Incorrect Age Labels – These defects occur when toys are given age ratings that do not align with their safe use, such as labeling a toy with small parts for children under three years old.

Gathering Evidence to Prove Your Defective Toy Claim

Through your lawyer’s investigation, they will gather various types of evidence to prove your defective toy claim. This evidence can include expert witness statements, eyewitness testimony, product photographs, the toy itself, medical records, product manufacturing specifications, and other relevant documents.

This evidence can be challenging to obtain on your own, especially while you’re recovering from an injury or caring for an injured child. This is one of the many reasons why you should hire a product liability attorney to handle your case.

Filing Your Lawsuit: The Legal Process in Georgia

The process of filing a lawsuit for an injury caused by a defective toy in Georgia has five main steps:

Investigation – First, your lawyer will investigate the incident to identify the type of defect present in the toy.
Filing – Next, your lawyer will file your lawsuit against the at-fault party or parties, which often includes the manufacturer.
Discovery – After this, your case will enter the discovery phase, where both parties share information, which may include design documents for the toy in question.
Negotiations – Your lawyer will next attempt to settle your lawsuit by negotiating with the at-fault party’s lawyers. Most lawsuits end with a settlement.
Litigation – Finally, if a settlement can’t be reached, your lawyer will take your case to court to seek the maximum compensation.

Call The Scott Pryor Law Group Today

Attorney Scott Pryor is a U.S. Marine veteran who founded The Scott Pryor Law Group to help victims and their families seek the compensation they need following various types of accidents. Over the years, our firm has recovered millions in negotiated settlements and trial verdicts by providing our clients with comprehensive legal representation.

If you or your child sustained an injury caused by a defective toy, call The Scott Pryor Law Group for a free consultation with one of our experienced product liability lawyers. We’ll explain the process of filing your lawsuit and help you understand your legal rights.

Scott Pryor

Managing Attorney | CEO

Scott is a U.S. Marine Veteran. He is a member of the State Bar of Georgia and is listed in the top 1% of trial attorneys in the nation by the Litigator Awards. He is also a member of Super Lawyers, National Trial Lawyers, the Georgia Trial Lawyers Association—Champion Level and sits on the Communications Committee of GTLA and the Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum.