Chicago Auto Product Liability Lawyers
There are many potential causes of Chicago car accidents. Defective vehicle design or defective auto products are responsible for thousands of auto accidents in the United States each year. Victims of defective auto products may seek compensation from the auto maker or the manufacturer of the defective product. If you have been involved in a car crash, it is in your best interest to preserve your vehicle in the state it was in at the time of the crash so it can be examined by an expert for evidence of product defects and malfunctions.
Types of Auto Defect Accidents
Experienced Chicago auto recall attorneys will carefully examine the site of an accident and the damaged motor vehicle to determine the cause of the crash. There are many potential auto product defects that may either lead to a crash or may fail to protect the occupants of the vehicle.
- Defective Tires and Tread Separation - Serious injury accidents have resulted from defective tires. In August of 2000, Firestone and Bridgestone had to recall millions of tires that had the potential to disintegrate and cause fatal collisions.
- Seatbelt Failure - Many cases where occupants are ejected from a vehicle involve seatbelt failure. Authorities at the accident site may assume that the injured victim was not wearing a seatbelt when in fact the seatbelt failed. It takes expert analysis to prove that the ejection of the occupant was caused by seatbelt failure as opposed to him or her not wearing a seatbelt.
- Seat Back Failure - Seats are supposed to play a vital role in protecting vehicle occupants in a collision. Seatbacks that collapse in the event of a collision greatly increase the chances of a serious injury or fatality.
- Gas Tank Explosions - Perhaps the most publicized auto defect in U.S. history involved a design error, which placed gas tanks in Ford Pintos in a place where they were likely to explode in an accident. New federal standards went into place with regard to placement of gas tanks. But these types of explosions still occur from time to time because vehicles cannot properly absorb the impact of a collision.
- Automobile Recalls - Auto manufacturers are forced to recall and repair vehicles that have known defects. The sheer expense of a mass vehicle recall causes many auto companies to avoid a recall.
- Defective Air Bags - Defective air bags either fail to protect the occupants of the car by failing to deploy in the event of a crash, or, deploying when they are not supposed to.
- Defective Brakes - When brakes fail at high speeds, the resulting crash may be catastrophic.
- Faulty Accelerators - In January of 2010, Toyota recalled 2.3 million vehicles with defective accelerators. Many serious accidents were reported before Toyota initiated the recalls.
If you have been injured in a car crash, you may be eligible for compensation. An Chicago product liability lawyer will review every detail of a collision to determine if driver a defective auto product caused the crash. The auto product liability lawyers at The Bradley Law Firm have years of experience protecting the rights of injured victims and fighting large corporations including auto makers. Call us today to find out how we can help.