If your vehicle is defective or has a defective part installed in it, you may find yourself injured in an accident due to no fault of your own. Thankfully, you can hold the at-fault party responsible for the auto defect in civil court and recover compensation for any damages accumulated.
Peterson & Associates, P.C. can help you pursue justice after you have been injured by an auto defect. These cases may seem simple, but in reality, they require intensive investigation and extensive industry knowledge. Should you work with us, we will make sure to leave no stone unturned when getting to the bottom of your case. No attorney can guarantee favorable results, but we do have the experience and skill necessary to give you an advantage in court.
Contact a Peterson & Associates, P.C. lawyer online today for a free consultation concerning your auto defects case.
Common Types of Auto Defects
Despite the fact that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has safety guidelines and procedures in place to ensure that defective auto parts and automobiles are not allowed to go to market, many automakers cut corners when it comes to quality assurance. Sadly, this leads to the market being flooded with auto defects.
Several examples of common auto defects include but are not limited to the following:
- Seat belt failure, such as if a seat belt has a broken latch or is inadequate in protecting a person during a crash;
- Brake failure, such as anti-lock braking system (ABS) failure, emergency brake failure, overheating brakes, etc.;
- Airbag failure, such as when airbags fail to deploy or deploy unnecessarily;
- Window and windshield failure, such as when windows and windshields are easily damaged or do not fit in their frames properly;
- Defective tires, such as old tires sold under the false pretense that they are new, tires with defective suspensions, or those that are prone to blowout;
- Defective fuel systems, such as when a fuel system does not have a cut-off device installed to stop the flow of gas, often resulting in vehicle fires and explosions;
- Defective seatbacks, such as when seatbacks collapse and render both the front seat and backseat dangerous;
- Steering defects, such as when the steering wheel is prone to locking, rumbling, or drifting;
- Headlight and taillight defects, such as an inadequate lighting system (e.g. one with low visibility) that makes nighttime driving difficult; and
- Windshield wiper defects, such as if wipers cannot clear rain off the windshield effectively or if they have faulty latches.
A few other auto defects include weak car roofs prone to buckling, defective fuel pumps, and sudden unintended acceleration (SUA).
Who Can Be Held Liable for an Auto Defect?
Cases concerned with auto defects fall under product liability law, meaning the auto parts manufacturer, designer, distributor, or retailer may be liable. The specifics of your case will determine which one of these parties is liable for your injury.
Take, for example, a case in which tire failure led to injury. The product designer would be held liable if they designed a defective tire and pushed it through manufacturing and to the market. However, if the design was safe, but the manufacturer made a mistake, then the manufacturer would be held liable for any resulting accidents and injuries. If the tire was only defective because it had passed its shelf life, yet a retailer still sold it to you, they would be the party to sue.
Hire a Skilled Attorney Team in Kansas City
Our lawyers at Peterson & Associates, P.C. have in-depth knowledge of an expansive catalog of defective auto parts. In pursuing your case, we will apply the full force of our award-winning team to investigate the auto defect at its center, consult other industry professionals, reconstruct the accident, and advocate for your rights.