Product Liability Law: The Manufacturer's Tort Liability
Compensation for damage caused by a defective product is regulated in the Civil Code of Georgia by a separate chapter, and this regulation establishes the manufacturer's liability independently of any contractual relationship. The core of this chapter is the following rule: the manufacturer of a defective product is answerable for the damage caused by this product, regardless of whether it stood in a contractual relationship with the victim. This means that a consumer who bought the item from an intermediary in the trade chain may claim liability from the manufacturer. At the same time, a dispute with the retailer may also be brought by the contractual route, and this page deals precisely with tort claims directed against the manufacturer.
Grounds for the Manufacturer's Exoneration
The law precisely lists the cases where the manufacturer is released from liability. Release is possible where: the manufacturer has not put the product into circulation; the circumstances of the case allow the assumption that the defect which caused the damage was not present in the product when it was put into circulation; the manufacturer did not produce the product either for sale or other commercial purpose, nor within the framework of its professional activity; the product has a defect which corresponded to the norms in force at the time it was put into circulation; or it was impossible to discover the defect given the level of science and technology existing at the time the product was put into circulation.
Additional rules exist as well: the liability of the manufacturer of a component part is excluded where the defect is caused by the construction of the product into which this part became a component. On the other hand, the manufacturer's liability is not reduced where the damage is caused by a defect of the product and at the same time by the act of a third person. And the manufacturer's obligation to compensate is reduced or excluded where the occurrence of the damage was caused by the faulty conduct of the victim or of the person responsible in the victim's stead.
The Concepts of Defective Product and Product
Building a claim begins with conceptual precision. A product is deemed defective if it does not provide the safety which, taking all circumstances into account, was to be expected of this product. At the same time, a product is not deemed defective merely because a better product was later introduced into circulation. This is an important protection: technological progress is not in itself regarded as a flaw.
The concept of product is also broad: a product is every movable thing and every service connected with a thing, even where that thing is a component of another movable or immovable thing. For the purposes of the Code, a thing does not include primary food products and products obtained by hunting, while a product includes goods placed on the market regardless of whether they are intended directly for the end consumer.
The general basis of the tort claim is Article 992 of the Civil Code: a person who, by an unlawful, intentional or negligent act, causes damage to another person, is obliged to compensate that damage. In the field of product liability the institute of the victim's contributory fault is especially significant: where the victim's own conduct also contributed to the occurrence of the damage, the obligation to compensate and the extent of that compensation depend on whose fault predominantly caused the damage. This rule also applies where the victim's fault consists in inaction, that is, in failing to avoid or reduce the damage.
Damage Caused by a Medical Institution
Damage caused to a person's health during treatment in a medical institution, including the consequences of a surgical operation or of an incorrect diagnosis, is compensated on general grounds, and the person who caused the damage is released from liability if it proves that it bears no fault in the occurrence of the damage. In the context of product liability this norm matters where the dispute is connected with a medical device or preparation: in a dispute over damage resulting from treatment, additional rules may come into play.
Compensation and Limitation
The content of the claim must be built completely: in cases of bodily injury or damage to health the victim may also demand compensation for non-pecuniary damage, in the form of reasonable and fair compensation. Time control is also decisive: the limitation period for the right to demand compensation for damage caused by a tort is three years from the moment the victim learned of the damage or of the person obliged to compensate it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I claim damage from the manufacturer if I have no contract with it?
Yes. The manufacturer of a defective product is answerable for the damage caused by it, regardless of whether it stood in a contractual relationship with the victim.
When is the manufacturer released from liability?
Release is possible, for example, where the product was not put into circulation, where the defect was not present when it was put into circulation, where it was not produced for a commercial or professional purpose, where the defect corresponded to the then-current norms, or where discovery of the defect was impossible at the then-existing level of science and technology.
When is a product defective?
A product is defective if it does not provide the safety which, taking all circumstances into account, was to be expected of it. The mere appearance of a better product does not make it defective.
How We Help on Legal.ge
Our team builds product damage suits in the completeness of the tort regime: we identify the manufacturer and the existence of grounds for exoneration, assess the causation between the defect and the damage, individualise pecuniary and non-pecuniary damage and analyse the allocation of fault. Contact our specialists so that damage caused by a defective product is compensated through a fully substantiated claim.