Last week a friend of mine told me about a scary car incident she had. While driving down Camino del Norte in Poway, her car suddenly stopped accelerating. Although there was some traffic in the roads, she managed to avoid a collision and was able to roll into the parking lot of the strip mall right at the corner of Twin Peaks and Pomerado Rd.
After doing some research on the internet, we found that Toyota had issued a recall of an electric component on her car that was said to cause sudden de-acceleration. She took it in to the dealership and they replaced the part.
In this case, my friend was lucky. Not all instances of defective components have happy endings like this. Sometimes, people are traveling at high speeds on the interstate when a faulty car part fails. It could be defective brakes, exploding airbags or faulty engine components that suddenly quit working, causing a severe accident. If injuries occur to the driver, passengers or any pedestrians because of an accident caused by a defective part, the manufacturer may be held liable.
Lawsuits based on defective components or parts do not have to prove that the manufacturer or seller were negligent. The victim need only prove that the vehicle performance had not been altered from the original state, the driver was not using the vehicle in a manner other than what the manufacturer intended, and that the defective component or part was dangerous. The best defense the manufacturer has in these circumstances is if the owner knew of the defective component and continued to use the vehicle with the dangerous part.
When a manufacturer becomes aware of a defective component, they use a cost analysis to determine whether it is more costly to issue a recall on the defective part, which means they would replace all defective parts at their cost, or whether they will simply take their chances with potential litigation. In litigation, plaintiffs can have their medical costs paid by the defendant manufacturer, but they may also receive punitive damages, which are monies awarded to convince manufacturers to correct the defect in their vehicles.
It is not the victims of accidents involving defective components or parts who are liable for their injuries. Manufacturers can be held accountable if their products prove to be unreasonably dangerous.
The bottom line is, if you receive a notice from the manufacturer that your vehicle needs to go to the dealer for a repair, take that notice seriously and act on it. Don’t let a known manufacturer issue be the reason for a car accident.