Defective Vehicle Claims: Do You Have a Case?

Vehicle

A defective motor vehicle claim is one of the several possible claims that a prosecuting party can include in their car accident lawsuit. However, the claim is not as straightforward as suing the drivers(s) and/or owner(s) of the offending vehicle(s) for compensation. 

For example, where a defective vehicle is involved, both parties may separately sue a common third party, namely the manufacturer of the faulty vehicle. Go through the following paragraphs as we go into more detail about defective motor vehicle claims, why they are so important, and how to know if you have a valid case.

Defective Motor Vehicle Claim: Suing the Manufacturer

A defective motor vehicle claim against the manufacturing company can be made when a car involved in the accident is found to have defects in its design, essential function(s), marketed function(s), quality checking standards, and/or manufacturing process. In order for the case to have merit, the manufacturing defect must be primarily or partially responsible for:

• Causing the accident.
• Acting as a contributing factor in causing the accident.
• Causing and/or exacerbating the injuries suffered by those involved in the accident.
• Failing to protect the injured within expected parameters.

Defects that can qualify a defective vehicle claim can be anything from faults in the body’s design or construction to engine assembly and the braking system, as well as everything in between. As long the fault(s) can be held in line with the above, it can strengthen your defective vehicle claim.

These are only a few examples to help explain how defective vehicle claims work. You will need the guidance of a specialized personal injury lawyer to determine the above, along with numerous other state specific legal factors related to the accident. Contact your defective vehicle claims attorneys for a free estimation regarding how strong your case can be in court, and what kind of compensations you can expect on winning.

Defective Vehicle Claims and the Lemon Law

The Lemon Law is meant to protect consumers against financial losses incurred by them upon purchasing a defective or mis-advertised vehicle (The “Lemon”) that failed to live up to the promised or minimum expected standards. This is not to be confused with a defective motor vehicle claim, even though they both have to do with a faulty vehicle.

Defective vehicle claims are made under personal injury laws only after one or more people are injured and/or deceased in a motor accident involving one or more vehicles with manufacturing defects. However, if a defective vehicle’s owner already had experienced enough problems to qualify it as a lemon, the defective vehicle lawsuit can only benefit from it. 

Defending Parties Can Also Launch a Defective Vehicle Claim

The driver and/or owner of the faulty vehicle can also sue the manufacturer, even if they are themselves being sued for negligence. The case will have merit if it can be proven that the vehicle had a defect that either led to the accident directly or created circumstances that contributed to the final incident.

Once again, if they were already experiencing uncharacteristically high car troubles with the particular vehicle that would qualify the car as a lemon, that can only strengthen their lawsuit. However, it is by no means to be considered as a requirement.