When you purchase a motor vehicle, you trust that it will work safely when used as intended. Unfortunately, auto defects occur all too often, and they can result in devastating accidents. If you’ve suffered an injury due to a defective auto, you may be entitled to recover compensation for your damages.
Lawsuits involving defective vehicles are highly complex, and it’s important to work with an experienced attorney who has the resources to battle the high-powered legal teams employed by auto manufacturers. When facing the financial burdens associated with a serious car accident injury, the stakes are too high to trust your case to an inexperienced lawyer.
Defective Auto Lawsuits
Defective auto lawsuits fall under the area of product liability, which holds manufacturers accountable for any injuries that occur when their products are defective. There are several ways a vehicle may be defective:
- Defects in the vehicle’s design
- Defects in the vehicle’s manufacturing process
- Failure to adequately warn users of any dangerous aspects of the vehicle
If a defect exists, you may be entitled to recover compensation for your damages regardless of whether negligence occurred. In order to hold the manufacturer accountable for your damages, you must be able to prove the following elements:
- The vehicle had an “unreasonably dangerous defect” that caused your injury
- The vehicle was being used as intended at the time the injury occurred
- The vehicle wasn’t substantially altered from the condition in which it was originally sold
In addition, you must be able to prove that you suffered an injury that caused you financial loss. Simply driving a vehicle with a defect isn’t enough to give rise to a successful defective auto lawsuit.
Common Types of Auto Defects
Just about any type of vehicle defect can cause a serious car accident injury. This may include:
- Defective airbags – An airbag can fail in two ways: it can inflate with so much force that you suffer a serious injury, or it can fail to inflate at all, resulting in much more serious injuries than would have occurred if the airbag had deployed properly.
- Defective seatbelts – Faulty seatbelts may fail to adequately restrain you during an accident, leading to injury or death.
- Defective doors – An improperly designed door can open during an accident and allow passengers to be ejected from the car during an accident.
- Inadequate roof strength – When a vehicle rolls over, the roof must support the entire weight of the car. Unfortunately, many vehicles lack the roof strength to withstand rollover accidents, and this can result in devastating injuries.
- Inadequate protection in side impacts – Side-impact accidents have the potential to cause considerable damage and injury. If vehicle doors are insufficiently reinforced, you can sustain serious injury or death.
- Faulty fuel systems – An inadequately designed fuel system or fuel tank can rupture in an accident and lead to a potentially deadly vehicle fire.
- Defective tires – Poorly designed tires can fail well ahead of their stated lifetime. This can result in a serious tire blowout or tread peeling off of a tire while driving. When this occurs at high speeds, the consequences can be catastrophic.
- Defective brakes – When a vehicle’s braking system fails to work properly, it can result in deadly accidents, especially when traveling at highway speeds.
Damages in a Defective Auto Case
Depending on the circumstances associated with your injury, you may be entitled to recover compensation for:
- Current and future medical expenses associated with the injury
- Lost wages
- Property damage to the vehicle
- Pain and suffering
An Attorney Can Help
It can be challenging to prove liability in a defective auto case. It’s important to hire an experienced attorney who understands the nuances of these cases, and who works with a team of engineers and experts that can demonstrate the ways in which this defect caused your injury. This will give you the greatest chance of a successful outcome to your claim.
