Just a few weeks ago, a Texas jury ordered Audi to pay a $124.5 million settlement to an 11-year-old boy. After a 2012 rear-end collision, the boy-who was in a 2005 Audi A4-was left brain damaged, partially paralyzed and blinded in his right eye. The settlement was reached after the jury determined that Audi equipped their vehicle with a seat back that was too weak to withstand a rear-end crash.
The plaintiff’s argument was that despite the fact that the passengers were wearing seat belts, the inadequate and weak seat back caused the front seat collapse. This resulted in the driver, the boy’s father, sliding backwards and hitting his head on his son’s head in the back seat. The accident occurred when their car was rear-ended after they stopped for a school bus. Stopping for a school bus is the law.
This case is one of many that have demonstrated automakers’ responsibility to protect their customers and passengers from defectively manufactured automobiles. Whether it’s Takata’s airbag failures; General Motor’s faulty ignition switches; Honda’s failure to report death/injury claims; or Fiat Chrysler’s lapses in safety recalls, people are at serious risk of injury or death when unreasonably dangerous and defective automobiles are allowed on our streets.
Civil lawsuits against the manufacturers of defective automobiles serve as ways to highlight poorly manufactured cars; compensate those who have been injured; or killed by these defective products; and serve to improve the company’s products and better protect people who use the vehicles.
The hope with cases like these is that automobile manufacturers will put even more emphasis on producing cars that make the safety of drivers their first priority.
If you or a loved one have been involved in a car accident in a defective automobile, call our office today. Our attorneys have over a combined century of experience dealing with car manufacturing cases in and around New York City and have sustained over $100 million in settlements and verdicts to prove our success record. We have spent countless hours analyzing car accidents and cases to see if the cars has all of the required safety equipment and we do everything from check red light camera footage to speaking with expert witnesses to make sure the truth is told. Call our office today to figure our your next steps in your motorcycle accident. We are here to help you.
