Danielle Ward Mason, Partner at Singleon Schreiber, is leading a case involving hair relaxers in Georgia.
The Georgia Supreme Court has ruled that a woman who claims she developed a medical condition from using chemical hair relaxers can proceed with her lawsuit against manufacturers Strength of Nature and L’Oréal. Kiara Burroughs began using the products in 1995 and continued through 2014. She was diagnosed with uterine fibroids in 2018 and filed suit in 2022 after a study linked hair straighteners to uterine cancer. The companies sought dismissal based on Georgia’s 10-year statute of repose, arguing the clock started with her earliest use in 1995.
However, the justices unanimously disagreed, ruling that the statute applies individually to each retail sale within the 10-year window, not the first sale to that consumer. While the court allowed Burroughs’ case to continue, it emphasized she must still prove that products sold within that timeframe caused her injury, a potentially difficult task if most use occurred earlier. The decision is expected to impact other product liability cases in Georgia. Burroughs' legal team celebrated the ruling as a key clarification of the law, while L’Oréal maintained confidence in its product safety and stressed that the ruling did not address the merits of the claims.
