High court rules Georgia woman can sue hair-relaxer makers over uterine fibroids
A Georgia woman may move forward with her lawsuit against hair-care manufacturers over claims that chemical hair relaxers contributed to her uterine fibroids, the state Supreme Court ruled Wednesday.
Kiara Burroughs alleged she used multiple hair-relaxer products sold by Strength of Nature and L'Oréal over nearly two decades and that the products contained chemicals linked to uterine disease. Burroughs first purchased a Strength of Nature product in 1995 and later bought L'Oréal products beginning in 2003. She was diagnosed with uterine fibroids in 2018 and filed suit in 2022.
The manufacturers argued that Burroughs' claims were barred under Georgia's 10-year statute of repose for product liability, which limits lawsuits to within a decade of the "first sale for use or consumption" of a product. A lower appellate court sided with the companies, saying the law barred her claims.
But the Supreme Court disagreed. In its ruling, the justices said the statute applies on a per-unit basis, not to a group of products sold over time. This means Burroughs can pursue claims for any units sold within 10 years of her lawsuit, even if she also used products purchased earlier.
"The statute of repose does not bar a claim merely because some units were sold more than ten years before the action was filed," Justice Pinson wrote for the court. "A cause of action still may exist for units sold to an intended end user less than ten years before the action was brought."
Burroughs' lawsuit also includes claims of negligence and fraudulent misrepresentation, alleging that the companies marketed the products as safe while knowing they were not. The Supreme Court affirmed parts of a lower court ruling that allowed those claims to proceed but sent back certain fraud claims against L'Oréal for more detailed pleading.
Attorney Danielle Ward Mason, who represents Burroughs, says she's glad they can move forward with the case and is hopeful that they're a step closer to a resolution.
"It really starts with the accountability that need to be taken by the manufacturers of these products who make decisions that could make these products safer. They don't," Mason said.
Mason said that the manufacturers have a 10-day window to request a reconsideration by the Georgia high court. After that, Burroughs can move forward with her case.