Defective Guardrail Claims in Georgia

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A guardrail injury can put two kinds of defendant on two different legal tracks: the company that made the hardware, and the public body or contractor that chose, installed, or maintained it. The manufacturer answers under Georgia’s product statute, with a repose period that runs from the first sale. A public body answers only as far as immunity has been waived, after timely notice, and subject to an exception for road designs that met accepted standards.

The Manufacturer

Georgia makes the manufacturer of personal property sold as new liable in tort, without privity, to a person injured because the property was not merchantable and reasonably suited to its intended use when the manufacturer sold it, where that condition caused the injury (OCGA 51-1-11(b)(1)). The Supreme Court of Georgia has sorted product defects into three general groups: manufacturing, design, and marketing or packaging defects (Banks v. ICI Americas, Inc., 264 Ga. 732 (1994)).

For a design claim, Banks adopted a risk-utility test that weighs the risks of a product’s design against the usefulness of the product as designed. A better design sits at the center of that test: the question is whether the manufacturer chose a reasonable design from among the feasible options it knew or should have known about, and the trier of fact may consider evidence that, when the product was made, a safer alternative design was marketable and technologically feasible.

Time limits the claim. A strict-liability action cannot be brought more than ten years after the first sale of the product for use or consumption (OCGA 51-1-11(b)(2)), and the same limit reaches a negligence action against the manufacturer, with exceptions described in the questions below (OCGA 51-1-11(c)).

A company that only installed the hardware stands differently. A “product seller” includes one who installs a product, and in a strict-liability action a product seller is not treated as a manufacturer under OCGA 51-1-11 (OCGA 51-1-11.1(a), (b)).

The Public Body

The State keeps its immunity for losses from the exercise of a discretionary function, whether or not the discretion is abused, and for losses from the plan or design of highways, roads, bridges, or other public works prepared in substantial compliance with the engineering or design standards generally accepted when the plan was prepared (OCGA 50-21-24(2), (10)). A city is relieved of liability for defects in its own streets when it was not negligent in building or maintaining them, or when it had no actual notice of the defect, or when the defect had not existed long enough for notice to be inferred (OCGA 32-4-93(a)).

Notice comes first: within 12 months of when the loss was or should have been discovered for the State (OCGA 50-21-26(a)(1)), within six months of the event for a city (OCGA 36-33-5(b)), and within 12 months after the claim accrues for a county, or, for a minor or another person under a disability, within 12 months after the disability is removed (OCGA 36-11-1).

Frequently Asked Questions

Must a guardrail maker warn about a danger it learns of after the sale?
The repose provision for negligence claims keeps a manufacturer’s duty to warn of a danger from a product’s use once the manufacturer becomes aware of it (OCGA 51-1-11(c)).

Can the maker be sued in negligence after ten years?
The ten-year limit applies to negligence actions against a manufacturer, except actions for negligence in manufacturing products that cause a disease or birth defect and actions arising out of conduct that shows a willful, reckless, or wanton disregard for life or property (OCGA 51-1-11(c)).

Does a design have to be the safest possible to avoid liability?
Banks framed the question as whether the chosen design was “a reasonable one from among the feasible choices,” and, citing a legal annotation, described the reasonableness of choosing from among alternative designs and adopting the safest one “if it is feasible” as the “heart” of design defect cases.

Can a driver who never bought the guardrail sue its maker?
Yes. The product statute reaches, regardless of privity, any natural person who may use or consume the product or be reasonably affected by it (OCGA 51-1-11(b)(1)).

  • OCGA 51-1-11(b), (c); OCGA 51-1-11.1(a), (b)
  • Banks v. ICI Americas, Inc., 264 Ga. 732 (1994)
  • OCGA 50-21-24(2), (10); OCGA 50-21-26(a)(1)
  • OCGA 32-4-93(a); OCGA 36-33-5(b); OCGA 36-11-1

Disclaimer

This article provides general information about guardrail injury claims under Georgia law. It is not legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Who may be sued, and which notice and repose periods apply, depend on the identity of the manufacturer, installer, and road authority and on the specific facts. A person injured in a guardrail collision should consult a licensed Georgia attorney promptly about the particular situation.

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