Georgia Injury Attorney Blog
Whether it’s a busy weeknight or a lazy weekend, frozen food items are an occasional must-have in any household. What happens, however, when your favorite frozen meal or snack contains extraneous objects, like plastic or glass? Even worse, what if that plastic or glass in your food injures you? Although this may seem uncommon, the company that produced the food item that causes an injury may face a Georgia product liability claim in the event its defective product hits the grocery shelves and goes home with unknowing consumers.
According to a recent news report, certain pepperoni Hot Pockets have been recalled because pieces of glass and hard plastic were found by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service. The recall applied to 54-ounce 12 packs of pepperoni Hot Pockets with a “best by” date of February 2022. According to federal officials, the Hot Pockets were part of a Class I recall, which involves a “health hazard situation where there is a reasonable probability that the use of the product will cause serious, adverse health consequences or death.” Since the product has been recalled, there have been four consumer complaints of contamination, one of which involved a minor oral injury.
In Georgia, there are specific laws that govern what happens when you are injured by a defective product. To ensure that you are eligible to receive financial compensation for your injuries, potential plaintiffs are advised to hire an experienced Georgia personal injury attorney who can help them navigate the legal system and its procedures with ease.
One of Georgia’s requirements on product liability claims, for example, is the state’s statute of limitations. Georgia law requires that injured individuals file their products liability personal injury claims within two years from the date of the injury. If a lawsuit is filed after this time period, the court will almost certainly dismiss the claim because it failed to meet Georgia’s statute of limitations for product liability cases. If the injured person is unable to file a suit because they are deemed legally incompetent because of a disability or mental illness, however, the statute of limitations for a product liability claim could be extended in some circumstances.
Injured plaintiffs also have access to different kinds of damages in Georgia products liability lawsuits. Compensatory damages in Georgia are broken into special damages and general damages. Special damages have a specific dollar amount and are designed to compensate the plaintiff for losses that can be quantified, such as medical expenses or lost wages. General damages typically refer to things that are less easily quantifiable, such as pain and suffering or reduced quality of life. When considering general damages, the court will typically examine the severity of the injury and any extenuating circumstances that the injured person is able to present as evidence.
Do You Need a Georgia Products Liability Attorney?
If you or someone you know has been recently injured by a defective product, contact the Georgia product liability attorneys at McAleer Law today. Our dedicated team will help you navigate your legal claims through the system in pursuit of full and fair compensation for what you’ve been through. To schedule a free consultation today, contact us at 404-622-5337.