Defective Industrial Equipment Lawyers in Georgia & South Carolina
Industrial workplaces in Georgia and South Carolina — including manufacturing plants, construction sites, warehouses, ports, and processing facilities — rely on heavy machinery and equipment that can cause devastating injuries when defective. Forklifts, presses, conveyors, cranes, saws, grinding machines, and other industrial equipment can amputate limbs, crush bones, cause severe burns, and kill workers when safety mechanisms fail or designs are inherently dangerous. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) reports that contact with objects and equipment is one of the top four causes of workplace fatalities.
At Roden Law, our defective industrial equipment lawyers represent injured workers throughout Georgia and South Carolina. While workers’ compensation typically prevents you from suing your employer, product liability claims against the equipment manufacturer are a separate legal avenue that allows you to recover full compensatory damages — including pain and suffering — that workers’ comp does not provide.
Common Defective Industrial Equipment
Industrial equipment defects occur across all types of machinery:
- Presses and stamping machines: Missing or inadequate point-of-operation guards that allow hands and arms to enter the danger zone
- Conveyor systems: Exposed nip points, inadequate emergency stops, and unguarded moving parts that catch clothing, limbs, and hair
- Forklifts: Stability defects, defective mast and hydraulic systems, inadequate operator protection, and seatbelt failures
- Cranes and hoists: Boom failures, cable defects, overload protection failures, and anti-two-block device malfunctions
- Power saws and cutting equipment: Missing blade guards, kickback prevention failures, and defective safety interlock systems
- Grinding and polishing machines: Wheel guard failures, defective tool rests, and exploding abrasive wheels
- Compactors and balers: Inadequate guarding that allows workers to be drawn into the machine
- Injection molding machines: Guard interlock failures that allow access to the mold area during operation
Product Liability vs. Workers’ Compensation
When defective equipment injures a worker, two separate legal systems may apply:
- Workers’ compensation: Provides medical benefits and wage replacement regardless of fault, but bars lawsuits against the employer and does not include pain and suffering
- Product liability: A separate claim against the equipment manufacturer, which allows full compensatory damages including pain and suffering, disfigurement, loss of enjoyment of life, and punitive damages in egregious cases
These claims are not mutually exclusive — you can receive workers’ comp benefits while simultaneously pursuing a product liability lawsuit against the manufacturer. However, a workers’ comp lien may attach to the product liability recovery.
Georgia and South Carolina Industrial Equipment Liability
Georgia’s product liability statute (O.C.G.A. § 51-1-11) imposes strict liability on manufacturers of defective products. Key considerations in industrial equipment cases include:
- Machine guarding standards: OSHA regulations (29 CFR 1910 Subpart O) and ANSI safety standards establish minimum guarding requirements that manufacturers must meet or exceed
- State of the art defense: Georgia allows manufacturers to argue that a safer design was not feasible given the state of technology at the time of manufacture
- Employer modification: Manufacturers may argue that the employer modified the equipment or removed safety guards — but the manufacturer may still be liable if the modification was foreseeable
Georgia’s comparative fault rule (O.C.G.A. § 51-12-33) allows recovery if less than 50% at fault. South Carolina’s threshold is 51%.
Evidence Preservation in Equipment Cases
The defective equipment itself is the most critical piece of evidence. Our attorneys send immediate preservation letters to the employer and manufacturer demanding that the equipment not be repaired, modified, or destroyed. We also pursue OSHA investigation reports, manufacturer maintenance records, prior complaint histories, and the machine’s design and safety analysis documentation.
Filing Deadlines
Georgia allows 2 years from the date of injury (O.C.G.A. § 9-3-33) with a 10-year statute of repose. South Carolina allows 3 years (S.C. Code § 15-3-530). Contact an attorney immediately to preserve the equipment and investigate the defect before the employer repairs or replaces the machine.
