Products liability claims have become an important way to ensure that those who make products do so safely.
Those who make and sell products have a responsibility to make sure those products are safe for their intended use and will not cause harm to those who purchase them. This includes automobile manufacturers. When someone is injured by an unsafe product, they have the right to bring a personal injury claim to recover compensation for their injuries against the manufacture and/or sellers of the product.
This legal claim is called a "products liability" claim. Generally, products liability claims are strict liability claims, meaning that the manufacturer and seller of the product are responsible for any injuries (including wrongful death) caused by a defect in their product. This is true even if the manufacturer and/or seller used reasonable care in making or selling the product.
Some of the most common types of automobile defect that cause injury or death include:
-Defective seatbelts
-Rollovers caused by defective car design
-Tire blow-outs caused by tread separation
-Defective airbags
-Defective seats, especially defective seat backs that fail in rear-end collisions.
Anyone injured by a defect in their automobile normally has the right to bring a products liability claim against the car manufacturer. This summer, however, consumers and consumer advocacy groups were outraged when the bankruptcy court allowed the car manufacturer Chrysler to limit its liability to those injured by its automobiles.
Under the terms of the original bankruptcy order, Chrysler could not have been held responsible for any future injuries caused by defects in their vehicles sold before the company emerged from bankruptcy. The company also was released from liability for any claims pending against the car manufacturer at the time it filed for bankruptcy protection. Thus, Chrysler would have been liable only for claims made by those who bought their vehicles after the company came out of bankruptcy.
However, because of the public's outrage Chrysler has changed its mind and announced that those who bought Chrysler products before the company went into bankruptcy and are later injured by a defect in those vehicles may bring a claim against the company. The auto manufacturer said that it sought limited liability during the bankruptcy proceedings because the company's financial state was so uncertain that the company did not know if it could afford to pay the debts of the old company, including those from defective automobile claims. The company says that it now has the financial stability and resources it needs to meet its responsibilities for death and injury caused by defects in its vehicles.
These concessions, however, do not include those consumers who had claims pending against the company at the time it entered bankruptcy. They still must file claims as unsecured creditors with the bankruptcy court, where it is unlikely they ever will be able to recover any money for their claims.
Products liability claims are an important way to ensure that those who make products do so safely and that products that cause harm to people are either improved or removed from the market before others can get hurt. If you have been injured by a defect in your automobile, contact an experienced products liability attorney for more information.
