Product Liability Law Blog

Stepping back from its previous ruling in Geier v. American Honda Motor Company that the automaker could not be sued for car products liability because, at the time, federal safety regulations considered the installation of air bags optional, the US Supreme Court, in Williamson v. Mazda Motor of America, is now saying that this type of auto defect lawsuit—involving the car part chosen by the manufacturer—can proceed.

The family of Thanh Williamson claims that Mazda's failure to install a lap-and-shoulder belt in the rear middle seat of the 1993 minivan caused her wrongful death. Williams was wearing only a lap belt when she died in a 2002 car crash. While Mazda says that it should be immune from their seat belt defect lawsuit because federal safety regulations allowed it to choose which type of seat belt to install in certain rear seats, the US Supreme Court says that unlike in the Geier case, when regulators were still uncertain about the effectiveness of air bags, in the Williamson case, even though automakers had been given the option of which seat belt to install, there was no doubt even back then that a lap-and-shoulder belt was safer for passengers than a lap belt.

To give you a sense of how the high court's ruling is paving the way for other auto products liability complaints that previously may not have stood a chance, this week, it ruled that Priester v. Ford Motor Co. should also get another day in court. The South Carolina Supreme Court had dismissed the car window defect case also on the grounds that federal regulations preempt the lawsuit.

James Lloyd's mom contends that her son may not have been fatally thrown from the vehicle of the 1997 F-150 pickup truck he was riding in during the 2002 rollover crash if only Ford had used laminated side windows rather than tempered glass ones. Federal safety regulations allowed for either option.

Suit Against Ford to Be Reconsidered, The Wall Street Journal, February 28, 2011

Supreme Court: Mazda Can Be Sued for Lack of Backseat Belts in Vans, ABC News, February 23, 2011

Mazda Seatbelt Lawsuit Prompts U.S. Supreme Court Appeal for Claims Shield, Bloomberg, November 1, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Williamson v. Mazda Motor of America, US Supreme Court (PDF)

Geier v. American Honda Motor Company, US Supreme Court, Cornell.edu

More Blog Posts:
Woman's Wrongful Death Blamed on Faulty Seatbelt System, Product Liability Law Blog, January 13, 2011

Ford SUV Rollover Lawsuit: Jury Awards Baseball Player's Family $131 Million, Product Liability Law Blog, September 27, 2010

Seat Belt Syndrome: Child Safety Continues to Take a Back Seat, Product Liability Law Blog, November 14, 2009

Continue reading "Auto Products Liability: US Supreme Court Sends Window Defect Lawsuit Against Ford and Seat Belt Defect Case Against Mazda Back to the States" »

According to The Detroit News, manufacturers called back over 19 million vehicles in 600 recall campaigns in 2010—the busiest year for post-production fixes since 2004 when 600 campaigns recalled 30.8 million autos. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which will release its final numbers for the year next month, reported that as of October 25 it had recorded 417 recalls affecting 14.8 million autos. Both the NHTSA and the News placed Toyota at the top of their list of manufacturers with the most recalls. NHTSA's preliminary list reported Toyota having 14 recall campaigns affecting approximately 5.9 million autos, while the News reported nine campaigns involving 4.8 million cars.

The urgency for autos with defects to be recalled immediately kicked into gear in August 2009 when a Toyota sudden acceleration accident involving a Lexus vehicle killed off-duty California Highway Patrol officer Mark Saylor, his wife, daughter, and brother-in-law. The vehicle they were in accelerated out of control when the gas pedal got stuck in the floor mat.

Second on the News' list was General Motors with 21 recall campaigns affecting about 4 million vehicles. Just recently, GM's Cadillac division recalled about 95,927 CTS sports sedans over a problem with its sensing system that could impact airbag deployment. '05, '06, and '07 models are affected. The automaker also recalled over 97,000 Chevrolet Equinoxes, Cadillac SRX's, and GMC Terrain autos, all '11 models, because the safety buckle anchor on the driver and frontal passenger seats may break during a traffic crash. In a smaller recall, GM recalled 1,262 SUV's and trucks, also '11 models, because the vehicles' rear axle cross pins were not made correctly. Vehicles impacted include the Chevrolet Silverado 1500, the Cadillac Escalade, GMC Sierra 1500, and Chevrolet Avalanche 1500.

Auto manufacturers are now under closer scrutiny and must report auto defects within five days of discovering. Our auto products liability law firm hopes that the push to immediately repair safety issues will save lives and prevent serious injuries.

2010 Likely Busiest Year for Auto Recalls in Seven Years, Daily Finance, December 29, 2010

Cadillac Recall: More Safety Gear Can Mean More Recalls, The Wall Street Journal, December 29, 2010

Auto recalls spike in 2010, The Detroit News, December 29, 2010

GM Recall: Cadillac SRX, Chevrolet Equinox And GMC Terrain Models Affected, Star Global Tribune, December 28, 2010

GM recalls 2011 Cadillac, Chevrolet and GMC trucks over axle risks, Torque News, December 28, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Get recall alert notices, Safercar.gov

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

Auto Recalls, Product Liability Law Blog

Continue reading "More than 19 Million Autos Recalled in 2010 in About 600 Campaigns" »

Toyota Motor Corp announced two separate recalls today. The first recall involves a global recall of 437,000 2010 Toyota hybrids—Prius, Lexus, and Sai—over issues with the vehicles' anti-lock braking system. Last week, the automaker admitted that there was a problem with the software that controls the brake system. Approximately 125 Prius owners have filed complaints about the defect, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has opened a formal probe into the matter.

In the US, the recall affects 133,000 Prius cars and 14,500 Lexus Division 2010 HS 250h vehicles. The fix involves updating the ABS software.

Toyota also announced the recall of 7,300 2010 Camrys over a brake defect. The NHTSA says that the problem involves a power steering hose that is too long and is at risk of wearing out the left rear brake tube by rubbing against it, potentially causing a brake fluid leak. This can make it harder for a motorist to stop the vehicle. The NHTSA says it is also looking into complaints it has received about the steering on some of Toyota's Corollas (2009 and 2010 models).

Also today, Honda says it is expanding a recall it issued in July 2009 because of a problem with the airbag inflator on some of its Accords, Civics, and Acura TLs. 2001 and 2002 Civics, Accords, CR-Vs, Odysseys, certain 2002 Acura TLs, and possibly one Acura CL and one Honda Pilot are affected. The automaker is recalling 433,000 vehicles globally. 379,000 of the autos are in the US.

The car manufacturer says there has been 12 incidents reported involving problems with the airbag inflator. Although all of them took place prior to the original recall, Honda says it wants to make sure that all vehicles with this particular defect are examined.

It was less than two weeks ago that Honda announced a global recall of 646,000 Fit, Jazz, and City (2007 and 2008) models over a power window switch-related fire hazard. 141,000 Fits sold in the US were included in the recall. Two Fits reportedly caught fire while seven others overheated.

Our auto products liability lawyers have helped many car accident victims and their families obtain personal injury and wrongful death recovery from negligent automakers.

Honda recalls 438,000 cars for airbag hazard, CNN Money, February 10, 2010

Toyota Corolla Complaints Being Reviewed By U.S. (Update2), BusinessWeek, February 9, 2010

3rd UPDATE: Toyota To Recall 437,000 Hybrids As Prius Concerns Add To Woes, The Wall Street Journal, February 9, 2010

Honda recalls 646,000 Fits for fire hazard, CNN, January 29, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Toyota Motor Corporation

Honda

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

Continue reading "Big Day for Auto Recalls: Toyota Recalls 437,000 Lexus and Prius and More than 7,300 Camrys while Honda Expands Previous Airbag Inflator—Related Recall with Another 437,000 Vehicles" »

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says that car manufacturers recalled 16.4 million vehicles last year. While there were less recall campaigns overall—492 recall campaigns in 2009 compared to 684 campaigns in 2008, automakers recalled 6 million more autos last year.

Toyota led the car manufacturer list with most vehicles recalled. The car manufacturer's reputation for passenger safety took a beating after four people were killed when its floor mat on the driver's side jammed a 2009 Lexus ES 350's gas pedal, causing the vehicle to accelerate to over 100 mph before crashing. Following the fatal car wreck, the Toyota announced a recall involving 4.26 million vehicles—its largest recall ever—to fix acceleration problems. In total, Toyota announced 9 campaigns and recalled 4.87 million autos last year.

Among the other automakers that recalled vehicles in 2009:

• Ford Motor Co.: 8 campaigns that recalled 4.5 million vehicles.
• General Motors Co.: 16 campaigns and 2.2 million autos recalled.
• Honda Motor Co.: 4 campaigns and 454,000 motor vehicles. Honda was the only auto manufacturer to see a drop in the number of vehicles it recalled in 2009 compared to the year before. The car manufacturer recalled 797,000 autos in 2008.
• Chrysler Group LLC: 15 campaigns and 59,000 vehicles.
• Nissan Motor Co.'s Kia Unit: 8 campaigns and 1.3 million autos.
• Volkswagen AG: 8 campaigns and 100,000 recalled autos.

While recalling a vehicle to fix a particular defect is a positive step toward preventing injuries and deaths, car manufacturers should not be designing, making, and selling vehicles that have any type of vehicle defect to begin with. Auto defects are not minor glitches that can be easily fixed. There are lives at stake whenever someone gets in a car that can potentially malfunction because a specific part was defective or poorly manufactured.

Do NOT be intimidated by a giant car manufacturer when it comes to pursuing an auto products liability claim for personal injury or death. Our auto products liability lawyers represents clients who were seriously injured or lost loved ones in car accidents because of structural defects, faulty engines, a seat back defects, a poorly designed seat belts, weak vehicle roofs, defective tires, faulty airbags, or other flawed vehicle parts.

Auto recalls surge in '09, NHTSA says, Detroit News, January 12, 2010

Recalls, NHTSA

Related Web Resources:
Auto Recalls, Justia
Consumer Reports