Defective vehicles contribute to a significant number of collisions each year, often resulting in serious injuries and substantial damages. When a crash is caused by an automotive defect or malfunction, product liability lawsuits allow consumers to hold manufacturers, designers, and sellers accountable. Successfully pursuing claims against auto manufacturers requires substantial experience and the resources necessary to manage complex, highly contested litigation. That’s where we come in.

What Common Automotive Defects Can Contribute to Collisions?

Vehicle safety systems undoubtedly save lives and reduce the severity of injuries in many collisions. However, when these systems malfunction or fail to perform as intended, they can introduce serious safety risks of their own.

• Airbag Failure: New cars sold in the U.S. must have dual front airbags (for the driver and front-seat passenger). Side airbags are common but not required by law. Defects in the design or manufacture of components can lead to airbag non-deployment, exposing the driver and front passenger to additional danger in a collision.
• Airbag-Caused Injuries: Airbags deploy with significant speed and force, and that force can cause serious injuries. These may include cuts, abrasions, eye injuries, hearing loss, and other trauma. Airbags can also pose a suffocation risk to children and smaller adults.
• Seatbelt Defects: New vehicles must be equipped with three-point (shoulder and lap belt) seatbelt systems for each seating position; older vehicles must comply with the version of the law in effect when they were manufactured. Drivers and passengers rely on seatbelts to help keep them safe and reduce their chances of serious injury in a collision. A seatbelt can expose a rider to additional danger if it does not function as intended due to a design flaw or defect.
• Seatback Failures: In certain rear-impact collisions, a vehicle’s front seat can collapse backward, causing severe or catastrophic injuries to rear-seat occupants. These seatback failures are particularly dangerous for children secured in car seats. A manufacturer may be held liable if the seat design or manufacturing process fails to meet applicable federal safety standards or creates an unreasonably dangerous condition.

Crashworthiness Lawsuits

Crashworthiness refers to how effectively a vehicle protects its occupants during a collision. It encompasses the safety of the vehicle’s design, the performance of its safety systems and features, the quality of its manufacturing and production, and other factors that contribute to overall occupant protection.

A crashworthiness personal injury lawsuit alleges that one of the safety systems that was intended to reduce or minimize injuries within a vehicle during a collision failed or did not perform as advertised. Even when another driver’s negligence causes a collision, an injured person may still have a claim against the manufacturer of their own vehicle if it failed to provide reasonable occupant protection.

For example, a driver is rear-ended by another vehicle traveling at a moderate rate of speed. Their airbag fails to deploy, and they strike their head on the windshield, sustaining a severe concussion. This injury would likely have been avoided if the airbag had deployed correctly per the manufacturer’s specifications and federal requirements. In addition to a claim against the at-fault driver, they may have a crashworthiness personal injury claim against the car manufacturer.

Recalls and Other Manufacturer Warnings

Lawsuits and news reports often help make manufacturers aware of defects or unreasonably dangerous components of their products. Other times, they uncover flaws in a design or faults in the manufacturing process during additional testing or internal development. Regardless of how a manufacturer discovers an issue, if it is likely to cause harm to the public, they usually publish notice of a product recall. This is a notice to the public that a product is “unreasonably dangerous” and may cause unexpected injury to a person using it as intended.
Product recalls are intended to prevent injuries to the public, but they do not absolve a company of liability for a dangerous product. If you have been injured by a recalled automotive product, you may have a product liability claim.

Did an Automotive Defect Cause Your Injuries?

If you have been injured in an auto accident caused by a defective or unreasonably dangerous product, retain an attorney immediately. Car manufacturers have teams of attorneys protecting their interests. You need an experienced opponent who isn’t afraid to fight for your rights and recover the damages you deserve. Contact the Cooper Firm today for a free consultation.

After years of discovery, we learned that GM was selling faulty ignition switches that would, without prompting, switch to the “accessory” position, taking away power steering from the driver. Our legal action against General Motors generated a nationwide response, leading to the recall of 30 million vehicles and the launch of hundreds of lawsuits across the United States.

In 2013, the Meltons reached a settlement with GM for $5 million, a sum that was initially confidential but later made public by GM. However, our commitment to justice didn’t stop there. In the following year, The Cooper Firm reopened the Meltons’ case, uncovering evidence that GM had deceitfully hidden knowledge of the defect, known by one of its engineers. This relentless pursuit of truth and accountability led our firm to represent over 100 individual clients in lawsuits against GM.
Ultimately, GM was compelled to pay a $900 million fine to settle criminal charges related to the concealment of the dangerous ignition switch defect.