Products Liability: Types of Defects
In some car accident cases liability does not lie with either one of the drivers. In fact, it may be determined that the accident is as a result of a defect in the vehicle. When this is the case liability can lie with the designer or manufacturer of the vehicle as a whole or some parts of the vehicle. Due to the complexity of such cases and the requirement of investigation it is important to retain a defective products lawyer. This article will discuss elements that need to be proven in a defective products personal injury case.
Any automotive defect can be one of three types of defects. These are:
1.Design defect – defects in the design are those when the item is created by the manufacturer with some type of flaw. When this is the case the issue is with the manufacturing of the object, part or vehicle and any normal use of the vehicle causes injury as a result of the design defect. It must be noted that when a vehicle has a design defect the vehicle is flawed to begin with. For example, a motor vehicle design defect may be present when connections going to the fuel line create a flammable environment.
2.Manufacturing defect – this defect happens when the design is appropriate but something in the manufacturing process goes wrong. This can happen as the product comes off the mold, whereby parts are made too small or big or the wrong shape; as a result, they may come loose and pose a danger to the driver of the vehicle and the vehicle occupants.
3.Warning defects – this is whereby a danger is known with regards to the product and or how it is to be used but consumers are not properly warned of it. Warning defects occur when there is not an adequate label explaining specific issues the product may have such as overheating or additional requirements in electricity. Such information may be left out after being distributed, not provided at all or may have been lost in transit at some point. Failure to adequately warn consumers of necessary information can easily result in injury of the end-user.
Defective auto parts and vehicles can disrupt the operation of a vehicle; such defects may take the form of mechanical or electronic. In some instances, it is possible for the defect to be software that is meant to keep the driver and passengers safe. The defect may be discovered to be a specific part that leads to an accident. When this occurs, manufacturers tend to send out recall notices when the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration [https://www.nhtsa.gov/recalls] requires discovery is made in a particular model. The manufacturers to issue recalls when safety standards are not met. The point of the vehicle recall is a strategy in place in order to prevent future accidents once a problem has been discovered.
When buying a vehicle, drivers trust that they are buying a quality product that is safe to transport them from one place to the next without incident. Speak to a product defects lawyer for a Wasilla accident.
