Can I still sue after 10 years if the maker hid a known product danger in Georgia?

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Concealment of a known hazard can change the analysis. Although Georgia’s ten-year statute of repose in O.C.G.A. § 51-1-11 ends most product-defect claims a decade after a product’s first sale, the statute contains an exception for conduct that crosses a line beyond ordinary negligence. A manufacturer that knowingly hid a serious danger may fall within that exception.

The willful, reckless, or wanton exception

The repose statute does not apply to claims arising out of conduct that manifests a willful, reckless, or wanton disregard for life or property. This is a higher standard than carelessness. It targets a manufacturer that acted with conscious indifference to the safety of others, which can include deliberately concealing a danger it already understood. When the proof supports that kind of conduct, the ten-year cutoff does not automatically bar the claim.

What this exception requires

Fitting a case within this carve-out is demanding. It is not enough to show the product was defective or that a better design existed. The focus shifts to the manufacturer’s state of mind and behavior. Evidence that may support such a claim includes:

  • Internal knowledge that the product posed a real risk of serious harm.
  • A decision to suppress, downplay, or fail to disclose that risk.
  • A continued course of selling or supporting the product despite that knowledge.

Because this turns on what the maker knew and did, the claim usually depends on internal documents, testing records, and similar proof of the company’s conduct.

A separate part of the statute preserves a manufacturer’s duty to warn of a danger once it becomes known, which can also support a claim on an older product when a hazard surfaces after the sale. And concealment that prevented an injured person from discovering a claim can raise fraud-based arguments about other deadlines. Even so, the willful-conduct exception is the statute’s primary route around the repose bar in concealment situations.

The injury claim itself still must satisfy the two-year personal-injury deadline under O.C.G.A. § 9-3-33.

The bottom line

A manufacturer’s deliberate concealment of a known danger can place a claim within the repose statute’s exception for willful, reckless, or wanton conduct, which may allow suit even after ten years. That path is narrow and requires strong proof of what the maker knew and how it acted, so whether it applies depends entirely on the specific evidence.

This article is for general educational and informational purposes only and is not legal advice. It does not create an attorney-client relationship, and Georgia law may change. For advice about a specific situation, consult a licensed Georgia personal injury attorney.

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