Car Accidents – Recalls

As cars become more and more sophisticated, with more electronics and extras, there are bound to be design and manufacturing defects. There have been some huge headline cases involving recalls, such as the Firestone tire recall and class action lawsuit about SUV rollovers. In recent years, the number of vehicle and parts recalls has grown enormously. And in tandem, the number of personal injuries arising from defective car design and manufacture has increased exponentially.

Although there have many recalls and lawsuits against car manufacturers, the law dealing with vehicle defect claims is fairly new and is becoming increasingly complex. Car manufacturers are becoming toughened by litigation and plaintiffs require excellent technical evidence to win personal injury cases against car manufacturers. Some of the issues that are raised during a defective vehicle case are: compliance with Federal safety standards, technological issues, vehicle safety, defective auto parts and even ‘lemons’.

Another important vehicle characteristic is what is called ‘crashworthiness’, and car manufacturers are putting an increasing amount of effort into vehicle safety. Every year, new devices are put into vehicles to protect drivers and passengers. Crashworthiness includes air bags, seat belts, side impact bars and roll bars. A vehicle may become uncrashworthy due to product defects – air bags failing to inflate – or manufacturing or design faults such as seat belt buckles that release on impact or jam. Any of these defects can lead to serious personal injury, even in a minor car accident.