Tennessee Auto Defects
As consumers, we expect the products we buy to meet certain safety standards. We also expect that the product’s manufacturer or seller has taken precautions to protect us from any potential harm. Unfortunately, these expectations are often unfounded, and we become the unwitting victims of defective products. That includes a staple of American life — the automobile. When cars and their components are released with faulty parts, including flawed tires that fail at highway speed or defective SUV designs that are prone to rollovers, catastrophic injuries and fatal accidents can result.
If you believe that you or a loved one has been injured by a car defect, you should contact an experienced lawyer as soon as possible. Call the attorneys at Terry, Terry, and Stapleton today at 877-489-5411 or fill out the free online case evaluation form. At Terry, Terry, and Stapleton, we have a successful record of helping people across East Tennessee who have been seriously injured, maimed, or killed by defective automobiles. We represent clients throughout Tennessee, including Rogersville, Newport, Morristown, Knoxville, Kingsport, Johnson City, Jefferson City and Greeneville.
Some auto defects, such as tire failure or steering failure, can actually cause serious accidents. Other auto defects may increase the severity of an otherwise minor accident by causing safety devices not to perform as they should, such as a seat belt unlatching or an airbag failing to inflate. Regardless of the specific circumstances, if a defective vehicle part was negligently designed or manufactured and led to injuries, the designer or manufacturer can be sued in a product liability claim.
For four decades, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has had the authority to order safety recalls of motor vehicles. During that time more than 390 million cars, trucks, buses, recreational vehicles, motorcycles, and mopeds — as well as 46 million tires, 66 million pieces of motor vehicle equipment, and 42 million child safety seats — have been recalled because of safety defects. Those defects can include:
- Steering components that break, causing partial or complete loss of vehicle control.
- Problems with fuel system components, particularly in their susceptibility to crash damage, resulting in fuel leakage and vehicle fires.
- Accelerators that break or stick.
- Wheels that crack or break, resulting in loss of vehicle control.
- Windshield wiper assemblies that do not work properly.
- Seats or seat backs that fail during normal use.
- Wiring system that cause fires or loss of lighting.
- Car ramps or jacks that collapse, causing injury to someone working on the car.
- Air bags that deploy under conditions for which they are not intended to deploy.
- Child safety seats that contain defective safety belts, buckles, or components.
Two significant types of auto defects concern SUV rollovers and the vehicles’ crashworthiness. SUVs, light trucks, and minivans are generally more prone to rollovers than smaller passenger cars. Because the center of gravity is higher for these types of vehicles, they can tip and roll over more easily than cars that are lower to the ground. A concept related to rollovers is crashworthiness, or the ability of a vehicle to protect the occupants against unreasonable injury during an accident.
A flaw with many SUVs is that their roofs collapse when the cars flip, crushing the driver and passengers. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety reported that nearly half of all SUV crash deaths resulted from rollovers and pointed out that sturdier roof designs could reduce rollover injuries and deaths by as much as 57%. While only 3% of car crashes involve rollovers, about one-third of all fatalities occur in those passenger vehicle accidents — and more than 10,000 people die each year in rollover crashes, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Few car part failures are more dangerous — or deadly — than faulty tires that fail at highway speed. One Firestone tire used on Ford Explorers failed at an alarming rate, causing the deaths of 174 motorists and injuring 700 others. The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) within the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is charged with conducting defect investigations and can order manufacturers to recall and repair defective tires. The ODI Website lists dozens of recalls, including an October 2008 recall by Firestone of 135,310 of tires with insufficient tread base gauge that “could lead to tread distortion or tread separation and loss of vehicle control.”
Many auto defect cases start out as simple auto accident cases. Until an experienced product liability attorney is contacted, accident victims may be unaware of the true reasons for their crashes and injuries. At Terry, Terry, and Stapleton, we thoroughly investigate and analyze all potential causes of the accident and identify all parties that may be responsible for the defect.
When unnecessary injuries and untimely deaths are caused by defective motor vehicles, manufacturers must be held responsible. Whether the case involves a faulty tire or an SUV rollover, our lawyers have the commitment and skill to prepare a case that gets results.
If you suspect that you have been injured due to a defective automobile, please contact the attorneys at Terry, Terry, and Stapleton. If we determine you have a valid claim, we will help you achieve a fair settlement and if necessary we will take your case to trial. Call 877-489-5411 or fill out the free online case evaluation form now for a no-obligation review of your case.
