Many Missourians rely on cars to get to work, run errands, take their children to school and numerous other everyday activities. Show-Me State residents also rely on automobile companies to provide a safe and reliable product.
One family recently filed a lawsuit claiming that Chrysler failed to adequately provide crashworthiness protection in the family’s 2005 Dodge Durango. A month after purchasing the vehicle, the family was involved in a fatal crash that they argue was caused by tire defects. The left rear tire supposedly delaminated and the vehicle rolled as a result. Chrysler responded that the Durango was a safe product and that it complied with all applicable safety standards.
If injury or death results from the ordinary use of a product, a manufacturer can be held responsible and may be required to compensate the victims or their families. A defect in manufacturing is a product that differs from the manufacturer’s intended design even if all safety precautions were taken to prepare and market the product. Manufacturing defects fall under the legal theory of strict liability meaning that the manufacturer need not be found to have been negligent in the preparation of the product. If the product was defective and the user was injured while using it for its intended purpose, the manufacturer could be held liable even if it was careful when designing the product, selecting materials or creating quality assurance guidelines.
For Missourians injured in car accidents, filing a personal injury lawsuit against an automobile company may seem overwhelming. However, a successful lawsuit can provide much-needed compensation for medical bills and other costly expenses that resulted from the accident. The amount of compensation a victim might receive will depend on the facts and circumstances of his or her case.
Source: The Southeast Texas Record, “Chrysler says Durango safe, company has no liability in negligence-related litigation,” John Suayan, Jan. 3, 2013