Product Liability

When does product liability apply to self-driving vehicle crashes in Georgia?

October 9, 2025

Product liability applies when a defect in a self-driving or driver-assistance system helps cause a crash, whether the flaw is in the design, the manufacturing, or the warnings and instructions. In Georgia, The Scott Pryor Law Group looks at the carmaker, its parts suppliers and its software developers, along with any careless driver.

What makes a self-driving system defective?

Self-driving crash claims usually involve one of three kinds of defect: an unsafe design, a manufacturing error, or missing warnings and instructions. The Scott Pryor Law Group investigates all three in Georgia self-driving crash cases, because each one calls for different evidence and different experts.

• Design defects. The design itself makes the product unsafe for the way it is meant or expected to be used. Every unit built to that design carries the same risk.
• Manufacturing defects. A unit departs from its design because of an assembly error or poor materials.
• Warning and instruction defects. The maker did not give adequate warnings about the product’s dangers, or clear instructions for using it safely.

In a self-driving vehicle, a defect can look like this:

• Faulty sensors or cameras the vehicle uses to see what is around it
• Flaws in the computer code that runs the self-driving system
• An owner’s manual that does not explain the system’s limits or how to use it correctly and safely

A claim can involve the vehicle, its parts, components such as cameras and radar sensors, and the software that runs the system. Finding which one failed is the first job in these cases.

How can a self-driving system cause a crash?

A self-driving system can cause a crash when it misreads a sign or signal, loses track of lane markings, fails to detect another vehicle or a pedestrian, or fails to hand control back to the driver. The Scott Pryor Law Group traces which failure happened in a Georgia crash before deciding whom to pursue.

Self-driving vehicles have been tested on Georgia roads in recent years. Many newer passenger cars also come with limited self-driving features that let the driver hand control to the car’s computer during highway driving. The technology is far from perfect.

Here is what a failure can look like:

• Misread signs and signals. Red lights, stop signs, yield signs and speed limits.
• Lost road markings. Lane dividers, the center line and the fog line.
• Missed vehicles and people. Other cars and pedestrians the system did not detect.
• No handoff. The system had a fault and did not disengage and prompt the driver to take back control.

Any of these can make the vehicle’s maker or the system’s developer liable in a product liability claim. The harder question is why the failure happened. Answering it usually takes the vehicle’s data and an expert’s review of the system.

Tesla’s Full Self-Driving system raises the same questions. Our article on suing Tesla over a Full Self-Driving crash covers that case.

Who can be held liable for a self-driving crash?

In a Georgia self-driving crash, The Scott Pryor Law Group looks beyond the carmaker. The company that made a failed camera or radar sensor, and an outside developer that wrote faulty code, can be liable too. A driver who was not paying attention may share the fault.

Many carmakers rely on other companies for parts such as cameras and radar sensors. Some hire outside developers to write the software or computer code. When the defect is in one of those parts or in that code, the company that made it may bear responsibility.

Others outside the vehicle’s supply chain can share responsibility too. A shop that serviced the car or its sensors may have done faulty work. A road maintenance company may be involved when poor signs or unsafe lane markings helped cause the crash.

Finding every responsible company matters for a practical reason. Each one has its own insurer and its own lawyers. We identify them early, while the evidence is still available.

What Georgia law applies to a self-driving crash claim?

Two sets of Georgia rules usually apply to a self-driving crash: product liability rules for the companies behind the system, and fault rules for the people involved. The Scott Pryor Law Group builds Georgia self-driving cases on both, because a defect and a driver’s mistake can combine in one crash.

The product liability rule: Manufacturers can be liable for selling products that are defective at the time of sale if the defects harm consumers. O.C.G.A. § 51-1-11

A claim can also argue that a company was careless in how it designed, built or tested the system, and that the carelessness led to the defect. The fault rule: Georgia follows an at-fault system: whoever caused the crash is liable. O.C.G.A. § 51-1-6

If you were the driver and the other side says you share the blame: If you are less than 50% at fault, you can still recover damages, reduced by your percentage of fault. O.C.G.A. § 51-12-33

Georgia law also sets conditions for fully autonomous vehicles that operate with no human driver inside. We check how those rules apply to your crash.

Self-driving technology moves fast, and the law has not always kept pace. That makes these cases harder to predict. It is one more reason to have the evidence secured and reviewed by people who handle defect cases.

What evidence shows a self-driving system caused the crash?

Key evidence in a Georgia self-driving crash comes from the vehicle itself: its event data recorder, or black box, and its onboard computers. The Scott Pryor Law Group asks for that data early, with photos, video, police reports and witness accounts, because it shows what the system saw and did.

Vehicle data can show:

• The vehicle’s speed
• The moves it made just before the crash
• What information its sensors had gathered

Other evidence fills in the rest:

1. Photos and video of the scene
2. Surveillance and traffic camera footage
3. Eyewitness accounts
4. Police crash reports
5. Reports and testimony from accident reconstruction experts

Computer logs and system data rarely come up in an ordinary crash claim. Reading them takes experts in software, automotive engineering or accident reconstruction. We bring them in when a case needs them.

Preserve what you can. Keep the vehicle as it is, and do not let anyone repair it, test it or dispose of it before your lawyer can secure the data. Keep your own records together too: the photos you took, the names of witnesses and your medical records.

When should you talk to a lawyer after a self-driving crash?

Talk to a lawyer soon after a Georgia self-driving crash, before the vehicle is repaired and before you speak with a manufacturer or insurer. The Scott Pryor Law Group offers a free consultation for self-driving and product liability cases, and you don’t pay unless we win your case.

Here is what we do in these cases:

1. Investigate. We gather the police reports, witness statements, camera footage and the vehicle’s computer logs.
2. Bring in experts. We work with software, automotive engineering or accident reconstruction experts to find out whether a defect caused the crash.
3. Document your losses. We record your injuries, your treatment and what the crash has cost you.
4. Find every responsible party. We identify each company and person who may be liable and send demands to start negotiations.
5. Prepare for trial. We take the case to court when a fair settlement is not offered.

The deadline: Victims generally have two years to file a personal injury lawsuit. O.C.G.A. § 9-3-33 Product claims have a second limit: Product liability claims must be filed within 10 years of the product's first sale. O.C.G.A. § 51-1-11(b)(2) We check both dates on the first call.

See how we handle defect cases on our Georgia product liability lawyer page, or review our case results. Schedule a free consultation. Phones answered 24/7.

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Written by the legal team at The Scott Pryor Law Group. This article is general information, not legal advice for your situation.