A Georgia product liability claim built on strict liability runs against a statute of repose, an outer boundary measured from the product’s first sale rather than from any injury. This boundary can close off a claim no matter when the harm appears.
The clock starts at first sale. The period runs from the moment the product was first sold for use or consumption, fixing its start to a commercial event rather than an accident. A component that entered service long before it failed may already sit beyond it.
It reflects a choice about aging products. By running from first sale, the rule embodies a judgment that a maker’s exposure should not stretch on indefinitely as an item ages in use. How long the product had been in service therefore becomes a threshold concern.
It is separate from the filing deadline. The deadline to sue after an injury is its own clock, and the repose boundary can expire even while that filing window would otherwise stay open. The two run on independent timelines.
The product liability statute of repose turns on a start at first sale, its focus on aging products, and its independence from the filing deadline. The counterintuitive result is that a fresh injury from an old product can arrive with no claim left to bring, the repose period having quietly run while the product was still in everyday use.