Automakers Get Sued for Delayed Repairs, Faulty Airbag Issues
» Posted March 28, 2018 • Resources | Share This Post
When you have problems with a vehicle that you have purchased, it is important that you know what your legal rights are. A California lemon law lawyer can provide help if you have repeated problems with a new car.
In many circumstances, if you are having problems with a car, others are as well. If vehicles have widespread issues because of a serious defect, then car manufacturers may recall all of the affected models of vehicles that are having problems. For example, in recent years, millions of cars have been recalled as a result of faulty air bags.
After a car has been recalled, those who own the vehicle are supposed to be able to take the car to a dealer to get repairs made on the defective part. Unfortunately, because there have been so many vehicles recalled because of air bag problems, there are not enough replacement airbags to fix the cars in a timely manner.
Due to the shortage of replacement air bags, some drivers have been waiting a very long time for their cars to get fixed. Some drivers have also grown increasingly frustrated with automakers who put them into this position, especially in light of evidence suggesting the automakers knew of the airbag problems before releasing the cars.
Automakers Sued Over Defective Airbags and Long Delays In Repairing the Vehicles
According to Boston.com, three different class action cases were filed in federal courts in Miami as a result of defective airbags. Cases have been filed against Fiat Chrysler, General Motors, Volkswagen, and Mercedes because of problems associated with Takata air bag inflators.
All of these vehicles, and many more, contain air bags made by Takata that have the potential to explode with force, sending shrapnel throughout the car after an accident has happened. People have been hurt or killed in accidents involving exploding Takata airbags and there is a grave danger for drivers who have vehicles with these air bags installed.
The recent lawsuit against the auto manufacturers allege that the car-makers who are being sued were aware of problems with the faulty air bags when they were conducting tests of the vehicles before bringing them to market. The plaintiffs allege that while the car makers were aware of problems, they chose to ignore the issue and thus jeopardized lives. The allegations against General Motors are particularly serious because the class action lawsuit alleges that documents from Takata show GM employees has expressed they were concerned about air bags rupturing as early as 2003.
GM has denied the allegations against the car company, calling them baseless and meritless and arguing many material facts are misstated in the case. The other automakers have also asserted that they did nothing wrong and that allegations they knew of airbag problems earlier are unfounded.
It is not uncommon for car manufacturers to try to deny responsibility, even when there are obvious problems. A California lemon law lawyer can provide help to those whose vehicles turn out to be defective and whose car manufacturers refuse to take responsibility in accordance with the law.
