6 Way Defective Car Parts Lead to Injuries and Fatal Accidents
Millions of vehicles each year undergo some type of recall involving either defective parts, manufacturing defects, or design errors. These issues can lead to serious and dangerous consequences for drivers and passengers on the road if they are not discovered promptly. Some drivers either ignore recall announcements or fail to receive a recall notice. If a victim is injured as a result of a defective car part, the part or car manufacturer may be held liable in a lawsuit.
Some indications that you are dealing with a defective car part instead of driver negligence in the aftermath of a car accident include:
- Broken, self-unbuckling or otherwise faulty seatbelts. If a seatbelt fails to clip or clip properly, or if it unbuckles on its own, or simply breaks, the chances for severe injuries to and even death increase greatly for the vehicle occupant in that seat.
- Airbags that never deploy. If your airbag does not deploy during a crash, the possibility of incurring much more serious injuries or even losing your life increases greatly. An airbag failing to deploy usually indicates a manufacturing defect, which means the claim may be directed toward the airbag manufacturer.
- Airbags deploying suddenly. If your airbag deploys at a very small tap of your vehicle with an object or another vehicle, the deployment may inflict injuries upon you that are greater than you would have every received in the small accident.
- Airbags that deploy too forcefully. When your airbag deploys with excessive force, it can result in broken bones or even death. In the case of the Takata air bag recalls, the airbag’s inflator, which consisted of a metal cartridge filled with propellant wafers, ignited in some cases, resulting in an explosive force. Metal shards from the airbag in such a case could be dispersed throughout the cabin, resulting in very serious injuries.
- Brake failure. Brakes are essential in helping to avoid car crashes. If the brakes are flawed, however, the possibility of a crash is highly elevated. Partially flawed brakes can make it extremely difficult to stop the car on time to avoid impact and serious injuries or death.
- Sudden unintended acceleration (SUA). With advancements in modern automobile technology, such as anti-lock braking systems (ABS) and electronic control units (ECU), also comes many systems in vehicles that, if faulty, can result in serious accidents. One of the potentially dangerous issues resulting from flawed technology is sudden unintended acceleration. If your vehicle’s ECU malfunctions without warning, your car may start to accelerate on its own with the press of your foot on the accelerator. Such a situation can lead to a disastrous accident.
It takes experienced legal skill to build an effective car crash injury case. At Warren & Kallianos, PLLC, our Charlotte car accident and product liability attorneys can help you pursue rightful compensation from the responsible party in your case. To schedule a free consultation, give us a call today at 704.377.7777 or use our contact form.
At Warren & Kallianos, we believe in the importance of working directly with our attorneys, Jeff Warren and Chris Kallianos. When you work with our firm, Jeff and Chris are always accessible to you throughout the progress of your case.
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