Imagine getting injured in a car accident only to find out that your car was defective or had defective parts and was recalled. If this is the case, do you still have a chance to pursue a product liability lawsuit after your car has been reclaimed?
In some situations, a recall may offer a refund as compensation and it may fix whatever problem the car had. A recall is usually part of some other legal obligation ordered by the court. Therefore, if you were injured as a result of the defective car, you may have a legal case.
However, before you file for a product liability claim, you should know that defective products take on different forms:
Design Defect
This means there is something wrong with the car design and this makes it unsafe. An example of a design defect is a car whose airbags catch fire when the car accelerates above 20 miles an hour.
Manufacturing Defect
This means the car was well designed but somewhere between manufacturing and distribution, an error occurred that made the car dangerous. An example would be brakes that were designed well but were not installed properly.
How Do You Determine the Kind of Defect to Sue For?
One of the ways that you can determine whether the car that caused the accident was defectively manufactured or defectively designed is to look at whether the defects were unplanned or intentional.
A design defect is usually part of the design plan. Therefore, if the airbags were designed to burn when the car accelerates above 20 miles per hour, then you can sue for design defects.
A manufacturing defect is unintended but this does not mean that the manufacturer cannot be held accountable.
It does not matter how many precautions the manufacturer took while assembling the car and this is part of the reason why product liability is known as liability without fault.
Product liability is imposed with the hope that it will force manufacturers to invest in product safety. As a consequence, manufacturers have increased the cost of production. It’s believed that customers who benefit from cars that have undergone rigorous safety tests should share the burden of injury costs caused by manufacturing defects.
The high prices are also meant to deter customers from purchasing these products.
In a manufacturing default case, it’s up to you to prove the car had defects. You can use the manufacturer’s design or marketing standards to prove that the car was defective.
The most difficult part, however, would be proving why or how the defect occurred. In most cases, manufacturing defects are usually the result of the manufacturer’s negligence.
Design defects on the other hand use a different approach. While the assumption in a manufacturing defect claim is that the design was perfect but the manufacturing or marketing process was flawed the design defect case will claim that the standards followed in designing and manufacture were inadequate.
Filing a Defective Car Lawsuit in Plymouth, MA
You can file a claim based on defects in:
- Passenger compartment
- Fuel system
- Engine assembly
- Electrical system
- Body and frame
- Temperature control system
- Exhaust system
- Brakes and braking system
Defenses to Defective Car Lawsuit
The car manufacturer or seller may argue that you knew about the car’s defect but continued to use it especially if you had been driving it for a while.
They can establish their claim by doing an inspection to establish the condition of the car or from the description of how you use the car.
Courts have recently began increasing awards of punitive damages for anyone who successfully files a claim against a manufacturer. Punitive damage awards can range from thousands to tens of millions of dollars. Such consequences are meant to punish car manufacturers and to deter them from failing to check for any inherent defects before releasing the car to the public.
Get a Free Case Review by a Plymouth Product Liability Lawyer
Car product liability claims can be very complicated and establishing liability often means getting testimony from experts. There are several approaches you can take to file a claim and there are also several defenses that the car manufacturer might bring up to defeat your claims.
Massachusetts has its own rules laws and statutes that will affect your product liability case. This is why you should consult a product liability lawyer in Plymouth, MA to help you get the justice you deserve.
Remember that the manufacturer will have a team of lawyers especially if the company stands to lose a lot of money. Having an experienced lawyer to help your case can increase the odds of you getting compensated. Contact us to discuss your product liability claim today.
