Can I sue if a recalled product injured me before I got it repaired in Georgia?

· 3 min read

Being injured by a recalled product before having it fixed does not, by itself, take away a Georgia claim. A recall is a warning and an offer to remedy a hazard; it is not a release of the manufacturer’s responsibility for harm the defect causes in the meantime. The key questions are whether the product was defective and who is responsible for the timing of any repair.

A recall does not erase liability

The maker of a defective product faces strict liability in Georgia under O.C.G.A. § 51-1-11, and nothing in a recall switches that off. A manufacturer that put a defective product into the market remains exposed to claims for injuries that defect causes, and announcing a recall does not undo that. If anything, a recall can confirm the manufacturer’s awareness of the hazard. So an injury that occurs after a recall is announced but before the owner completes the fix is still potentially actionable.

How the unrepaired condition is weighed

The harder issue is whether the injured person’s delay in getting the repair affects recovery. Georgia runs a modified comparative-fault system through O.C.G.A. § 51-12-33: a jury puts a fault percentage on each party, trims the injured person’s award by whatever portion is laid at their feet, and cuts the recovery off entirely once that portion hits 50 percent. Whether failing to act on a recall counts against the injured person depends on the facts, including:

  • Whether the owner actually received clear notice of the recall and the danger.
  • How much time and opportunity there was to obtain the repair.
  • Whether the recall remedy was readily available or backlogged.
  • Whether the danger that caused the injury was the same one the recall addressed.

A person who never got meaningful notice, or who had a repair scheduled but was injured first, stands differently from one who ignored a plain warning for a long time.

Notice and the manufacturer’s conduct

The recall notice itself can cut both ways. It supports the manufacturer’s argument that the owner knew of the risk, but it also documents that the maker recognized a defect serious enough to act on. That recognition can support the claim, including arguments about the adequacy of the warning and the manufacturer’s knowledge.

The bottom line

A recall does not bar a Georgia claim for an injury suffered before the repair was made, because the manufacturer’s responsibility for a defective product does not vanish when a recall is issued. The owner’s response to the recall may be weighed under Georgia’s comparative-fault rules, so the practical effect turns on the notice received, the chance to fix the product, and the link between the recalled defect and the injury.

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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