When the Car Is the Culprit: How Defective Auto Parts Can Cause Injury

After a motor vehicle accident, most people’s minds go straight to the behavior of the driver(s) — Were they speeding? Were they distracted? Were they intoxicated? But while most accidents are caused by human error, not all are. Some are caused by defective auto parts, poorly designed vehicles, and failure to warn of non-obvious dangers. Car accident claims based on products liability differ significantly from those based on driver error, as they often involve more technical evidence and arguments. Because personal injury claims for such accidents are more complex than standard claims, drivers injured by defective products would be well-served by working with a Tifton car accident attorney. 

What Are the Three Types of Defective Products?

Georgia products liability law recognizes three distinct categories of product defects: 

1. Manufacturing defects: Defects that occur during the production or assembly of a product; they affect one product or a batch of products, but not the entire product line. 
2. Design defects: Defects inherent in the product’s original design; they affect the entire product line. 
3. Marketing defects (a.k.a. “failure to warn”): Inadequate warnings, instructions, or labels that fail to disclose dangers or product limitations that are not necessarily obvious to the user.

All three types of product defect can occur in the automobile context. For example, a manufacturing defect could occur in a brake component that is poorly assembled and breaks during use, preventing the driver from stopping. A design defect could occur when a vehicle’s fuel tank is designed to rupture more easily during a collision, increasing the risk of fire. And a marketing defect could occur when an automaker knows that a particular safety component can fail under certain conditions but fails to adequately warn users of the danger or provide instructions for avoiding it. Our Tifton car accident attorneys handle all three types of claims. 

How Can Defective Auto Parts Cause Injury? 

Vehicles are made up of thousands of moving parts, many of which can cause severe injury if they fail to function as intended. 

Tire Defects

Tire defects are a common source of products liability-based personal injury claims. After all, a tire that is improperly designed or manufactured can easily blow out, leading to severe and catastrophic accidents at high speed and with little warning. Tire defects typically fall into the categories of manufacturing and design defects. It’s important to note, however, that not every tire failure is necessarily evidence of a product defect, as tires may also fail due to poor maintenance, improper inflation, road hazards, etc. 

Brake Failure 

Vehicle brakes are designed to perform an important function: to stop cars when the driver applies the brake pedal. If a brake component suffers a manufacturing or design defect, the vehicle may not stop as intended. Accidents caused by brake failure often look like failure-to-stop accidents (in which the driver of the car that failed to stop would typically be liable), but upon closer investigation, they become products liability-based accidents (in which the manufacturer of the defective part would typically be liable). 

Airbag Malfunctions 

Airbags can fail two ways, both of which can cause serious injury or death. First, they can fail to deploy in a crash, turning what could have been a survivable crash into a fatal one. Second, they can deploy improperly or unexpectedly, causing injury to their occupants or startling a driver so much that the driver loses control of the vehicle. One of the largest auto recalls in U.S. history, in fact, involved airbags that exploded when deployed, often ejecting metal shrapnel into vehicle cabins. 

Seatbelt Malfunctions 

As we’ve shown with airbags, safety features can become hazards when defectively designed or manufactured. Seatbelts can cause harm when they fail to lock under hard braking or when the restraint they provide is insufficient for the vehicle in which they are installed. Malfunctioning seatbelts (and airbags) implicate the crashworthiness doctrine — the principle that vehicle manufacturers may be held liable for injuries caused by product defects during a crash even if the product defect itself did not cause the crash. 

Who Can Be Held Liable for Injuries Caused by Defective Auto Parts?

Unlike typical car accidents, which usually involve only the drivers of the respective vehicles, products liability-based auto claims implicate a much broader range of potential defendants. Potentially responsible parties include: 

• The vehicle manufacturer (e.g., if the defect was in the design or assembly of the car itself)
• A component part manufacturer (e.g., if the defect was in the design or assembly of a part like a tire, airbag, or brake system built by a third-party supplier) 
• A maintenance provider (e.g., if improper repair work caused the part to fail)

Sorting out which of these parties may have been responsible in whole or in part for an accident requires a skilled investigation. That’s why you should consult a Tifton car accident attorney if you believe your accident or injury was due to a faulty product in any way. 

How Can I Preserve a Potential Products Liability Claim? 

If you think a defective part was a factor in your accident, a few early actions can go far in preserving your claim: 

• Don’t let the vehicle be repaired, sold, or scrapped without having it inspected by someone who can evaluate the potentially faulty part
• Keep the failed part if it is safe and legal to do so rather than allowing it to be discarded during service
• Keep maintenance and repair records, which can help rule out improper upkeep as an alternative theory 
• Check for open recalls on the vehicle or its parts, since a known recall can be persuasive evidence in a products liability claim

Pursue a Defective Auto Part Claim With Help From a Tifton Car Accident Attorney 

Operator error is not always the sole cause of injuries in car accidents. If you think your injury was due to a defective automotive product, you should enlist an experienced attorney who can help you investigate your claims and build a case. To get started, please contact a Tifton car accident attorney at the Hudson Injury Firm by calling 229-396-5848 or using our online form.