Statute of Limitations
Georgia: 2 years from device breakage date (O.C.G.A. § 51-1-11)
2 years from breakage date
Where to File in Georgia
Paragard cases from Georgia are filed directly into MDL 2974 — In re Paragard IUD Products Liability Litigation — pending in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, Atlanta Division, before the Honorable Leigh Martin May. MDL 2974 consolidated over 20,000 Paragard claims from across the country. Upon filing, cases are transferred to N.D. Georgia for coordinated pretrial proceedings under the Case Management Orders issued by Judge May; individual cases return to home districts only for trial.
Georgia Statute of Limitations: Georgia Code § 9-3-33 (personal injury, 2 years) establishes a 2 years limitations period for personal injury and product liability claims. Georgia applies the discovery rule, tolling the 2-year period until the plaintiff knew or should have known of both the Paragard arm fracture and its causal connection to her injuries. As the MDL host state, Georgia federal courts in the N.D. Georgia district (Atlanta Division) have unique procedural familiarity with Paragard claims.
Transfer to N.D. Georgia MDL: Plaintiffs' counsel typically file Georgia Paragard cases directly in the Northern District of Georgia to enter MDL 2974, or file in Georgia federal court and receive transfer via JPML conditional transfer order. Either path results in cases being managed under Judge May's pretrial docket. Georgia plaintiffs are subject to the MDL's Plaintiff Fact Sheet requirements and the bellwether trial selection process.
Georgia is the MDL host state: all Paragard federal cases are centralized in N.D. Georgia before Judge Leigh May regardless of where the device was placed or where the plaintiff resides. Georgia itself has a growing population of reproductive-age women, particularly in the Atlanta metropolitan area, and state plaintiffs benefit from proximity to the MDL courthouse.
Exposure in Georgia
Source: N.D. Georgia MDL 2974 Docket, February 2026
Your Legal Team
Dr. Leah Hoffman
Senior Partner — MDL Plaintiffs' Leadership
Atlanta, GA
Leah Hoffman has spent over two decades representing women injured by defective medical devices, with a focus on reproductive health products. She serves on the Plaintiffs' Steering Committee for MDL 2974 in the Northern District of Georgia, coordinating discovery strategy and expert witness preparation across the consolidated Paragard litigation. Her practice is based in Atlanta — the same district where Judge Leigh Martin May is presiding over the MDL — giving her direct proximity to court proceedings and case management conferences. Leah has worked with leading gynecological oncologists and reproductive medicine specialists to build causation and damages cases for Paragard clients, with particular expertise in infertility damages valuation. She has recovered over $120 million for medical device injury clients over her career.
Education
- J.D., Emory University School of Law (2004)
- B.S., Biology, Georgia Tech (2001)