Manufacturer Defect Car Accident Lawyer BIG AUTO

The United States’ consumer protection laws place a duty of care on manufacturers to design, create and distribute vehicles that are safe and free of flaws. Regardless of what type of component failure caused your vehicle to malfunction, your lawsuit will require a clear, detailed and convincing description of how a vehicle defect contributed to the accident.

A vehicle accident may have been caused by a manufacturer’s negligence such as:

• Poor Design Process: Defects may develop while engineers design a new model or redesign an existing one. Errors made during this premanufacturing stage could indicate that the manufacturer failed to adequately test their new design, or they may have overlooked something that would have made their vehicles safer. One particular historical example included a manufacturer’s poor judgment in designing a vehicle’s gas tank in a way that made it more likely to explode.
• Flawed Manufacturing Process: Manufacturing defects could occur during a vehicle’s various production stages. Flaws that develop at this stage could be unrelated to a car’s design and planning process. In some cases, an assembly line may not be configured to correctly produce the vehicles as intended. A manufacturer may have also ordered incompatible components or suppliers may have sent defective parts that should have been checked more carefully.
• Lack of Warnings or Instructions: Auto manufacturers must provide purchasers with instructions outlining how to safely use and maintain their vehicles. If a car requires a part that poses a risk of hazard, its manufacturer must provide noticeable warnings and instructions on how to avoid harm. Without adequate instructions or warning signs, manufacturers could face liability for accidents caused by their failure to warn consumers about foreseeable risks.

Because of federal laws governing rigorous vehicle testing procedures, manufacturers must examine their cars and correct potential flaws before sending them to dealers. If you’re uncertain about how and where your vehicle was produced, an experienced auto defects attorney can provide the information that you’ll need to submit with your complaint.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration investigates complaints made by consumers with vehicle defects or who have experienced safety issues. When the agency confirms that manufacturers distributed certain car models with flawed parts or equipment, it may recall them to avoid dangerous accidents.

As noted in a Vehicle Safety Recalls announcement released by the NHTSA, the agency issued 932 recalls based on known safety issues in 2022. The recalls affected at least 30 million cars. Rather than respond to NHTSA recalls based on vehicle owner complaints, manufacturers could take proactive steps and issue their own recalls. Doing so could help them avoid costly lawsuits. Manufacturers may also offer to fix owners’ vehicles or replace faulty components before they cause accidents or injuries.

Some of the most common safety problems that resulted in vehicle recalls in 2022 included:

• Defective tires: Blowouts and rollover accidents could result from defective tires. Sudden air loss, prematurely worn treads or damaged inner cords could cause a vehicle to skid and crash.
• Electrical systems: Faulty electrical components that power a wide range of vehicle systems could cause serious safety issues. A defective component could affect airbags, headlights, warning signals or cruise control operation. Problems may develop from defective batteries, software or wiring.
• Steering equipment: Because steering affects the way a car’s wheels turn, a defect in this system could lead to catastrophic results. Malfunctions or shorts in an electric power steering system could cause motorists to lose control of their vehicles.
• Children’s safety seats: The federal government sets high standards for manufacturers of car seats designed to effectively restrain and protect children. Poorly designed frames or harnesses could fail to keep children safe and result in severe injuries during a collision.
• Parts or equipment: If a vehicle or any of its components fail to comply with federal safety standards, the vehicle model or production run could be recalled. In addition to the obvious components that are necessary to operate vehicles, accessories such as bike racks that can fall off and cause damage to other vehicles may also lead to a recall.

If you become aware of the federal government or a manufacturer issuing a recall relating to your vehicle’s make or model, you may wish to consider contacting an experienced manufacturer defect attorney. You could learn if other motorists have experienced any related harm. Official accident reports and recent lawsuits, for example, could provide details on what issues may have been present during your vehicle’s manufacture.

When filing a legal complaint, attorneys search for all possible parties in the distribution chain to determine which may have liability for your vehicle’s defects. After learning about a car’s flaws and how they may have come about, an attorney will know which parties to include in a legal action.

If you or a loved one suffered harm in a vehicle accident related to a manufacturer’s defect, you may file a claim against:

• The vehicle manufacturer: Corporations can face lawsuits for manufacturing cars that fall below federal safety standards or that arrive at dealers with unreasonably dangerous designs. They may also face liability for their marketing practices and for errors made by outsourced engineers, contractors and consultants.
• A parts or components manufacturer: Some manufacturers order parts and components from third parties and may include items such as airbags or batteries. Lawsuits may hold a third-party manufacturer accountable if its flawed or defective parts came with the vehicle.
• The transportation company: Vehicles may become damaged while they are transported between the manufacturer and dealership. Shippers owe a duty of care to deliver safe and working products. When they fall below this standard, such as by delivering cars that were hit by road debris during transport, shippers may incur liability for any related defects.
• An automotive dealer or seller: With most sales transactions, the dealer or seller must disclose the vehicle’s condition and bring to a buyer’s attention any potential problems that they know of. Misrepresentation includes making false statements about a car’s condition, tampering with an odometer or inflating the sale price. You may file a legal action against a dealership if its untruthful representations resulted in the sale of a defective vehicle.
• Another motorist’s car manufacturer: Accidents involving two or more parties may require a lawsuit to hold the manufacturer of the defective vehicle liable for the harm suffered by all parties involved. Passengers, bicyclists and pedestrians may also sue corporations for producing a flawed vehicle that harmed them.