Let’s face it, most of the time accidents are caused due to the negligence of another driver. People can be reckless on the road and it can all too easily lead to a devastating accident. What, however, happens if an accident is not caused by another driver, but instead by a defect in the vehicle itself? We place our trust in vehicle manufacturers to develop safe cars for us to drive, but sometimes errors in the manufacturing process can turn them into disasters waiting to happen.
If you have been involved in an accident caused by a vehicle defect, it is important to know your legal options. An accident can be an overwhelming and disorienting experience. Knowing what to do and what happens after an accident, however, can be critical in preserving and protecting your right to pursue full and fair compensation for the harm you have suffered.
North Dakota Car Accidents Caused By Defects
Defective products can be dangerous. The makers and distributors of products, however, owe consumers a legal duty of care to help ensure that their products do not hurt the people that buy and use them. When a dangerously defective product injures someone, then the designer, manufacturer, distributor, or really anyone along the supply chain may be held responsible for the harm the dangerous product causes. This is done through a product liability claim.
There are three different defects that can form the basis for a product liability claim, which are:
- Design defect: A product may have a problem with its design which renders it dangerous. This means that, even if the product was manufactured exactly per the design specifications, it would still be dangerous as the defect is inherent in the design.
- Manufacturing defect: A product may have been safely designed, but there was a manufacturing error that made it dangerously defective.
- Failure to warn: Sometimes a product is safely designed and properly manufactured, but there are still reasonable dangers associated with the use of the product. Product developers have a legal duty to warn consumers of these reasonable and foreseeable dangers. When they don’t, they can be held legally liable for the resulting harm.
Whether it be the product designer, manufacturer, distributor, or someone else, the party responsible for the defect which caused your accident can be on the hook for compensating you for the damages you sustained as a result. Your power steering may have failed causing you to lose control of the vehicle. Your tire may have exploded leading to you being unable to safely control your vehicle. Your SUV may have been dangerously designed to be too top-heavy and prone to rolling over. Regardless of the defect, you can pursue full and fair compensation for the harm you have suffered due to the defect in your vehicle that led to the accident.
If you suspect that a vehicle defect has caused the accident, it is critical that you take steps after the accident to preserve evidence to support your claim. Take pictures and document the accident scene. Keep track of your vehicle’s location and take steps to ensure that it is stored in a safe location until it can be investigated and properly inspected for defects.
Personal Injury Attorneys
Have you been injured in an accident caused by a vehicle defect? Do not delay in reaching out to the dedicated personal injury team at Pringle and Herigstad for assistance. We will begin immediate work at protecting and enforcing your legal rights. Contact us today.
