Hartford Defective Auto Parts Lawyers

Product liability attorneys in Hartford & Manchester, CT

It’s every driver’s worst nightmare. You’re driving along on the highway, getting ready to take your exit, step on your brakes – and nothing happens. You do your best to guide your car to a stop, but the failure of your brakes causes a serious car crash. Or maybe you just got that dream car you’ve been saving up for, only to find that the steering locks up just when you need it most, causing an accident. These may all be situations where accidents are not your fault.

At Barry, Taylor & Levesque, LLC, our Hartford product liability attorneys protect your right to compensation when auto defects cause your accident and injuries. We work to hold auto parts companies and manufacturers accountable, as well as dealers, repair shops, or any other entity who may be responsible for your losses and damages. Call us today.

Common Hartford vehicle and auto defects

The cars, trucks, and motorcycles we drive every day are generally built using parts manufactured by other companies. This means that there are many different parties involved in assembling one vehicle. If any part of this manufacturing and production chain breaks or fails, the end product can end up defective and result in tragic car accidents involving both drivers and passengers.

Our attorneys have a wide range of experience with defective auto parts cases, including:

• Airbag defects. Airbags are designed to save the lives of occupants of cars, trucks, and SUVs in the event of higher-speed accidents. However, airbags that fail to deploy or malfunction can cause serious injury or even death. In the recent Takata airbag recall, a defect caused many airbags to explode, causing severe injuries and multiple deaths. The NHTSA’s recall count currently stands at 56 million.
• Defective brakes. Brakes are imperative to the safety of any vehicle. As drivers, we need to be able to come to both controlled and emergency stops. When brakes fail, a car or truck can do anything from skid out of control into another vehicle or pedestrian, or collide with a stationary object. Brake failures can occur due to fluid loss, ABS failure, and lockups.
• Defective child restraints. Cars don’t come from the dealer with child restraint devices built in. However, federal and Connecticut law states that all children under a certain age and weight must be safely secured in a child passenger seat. If a child’s safety restraint system fails due to a product defect, your child could suffer serious injury. The NHTSA provides detailed information about child car seat safety.
• Defective door latches. The door latches on our vehicles are designed to keep the doors securely closed to ensure the safety of the occupants inside. If they fail, the doors can fly open at high speeds and/or on impact, putting passengers and the driver at risk for being ejected from the vehicle.
• Defective seatbelts. Like airbags, seatbelts are designed to protect you from being ejected from your vehicle in the event of an accident or rollover. Generally, they work as intended. However, if a seatbelt malfunctions, it can cause serious injury or death. Typical defects include excessive spooling, torn webbing, or improper latching.
• Defective tires. Defective tires are responsible for many car and truck accidents across the country annually. Defective tire issues include blowouts, tread separation, or improper puncture repair. Tire defects can cause devastating accidents, especially when they happen on tractor-trailers and 18-wheelers.
• Seat and headrest defects. The seatback and headrest are just as important as your seatbelt in protecting you from serious injury. In addition to the fact that it holds your seatbelt, if your headrest or seat collapses due to a design defect, you could suffer severe spinal injury.
• Window or glass defects. For safety reasons, auto manufacturers are mandated to make their vehicle’s windshields out of laminated glass. This makes the windshield hold together in a collision, preventing shards of glass from causing laceration injuries and passengers being ejected from the vehicle. However, manufacturers aren’t yet required to put this type of glass on side, rear, or sunroof windows – leaving exposed spots in vehicles.

Of course, these are only a few examples of auto defects possible under product liability law. Our Hartford attorneys can talk to you about your specific circumstances and injuries to determine who may be liable for your accident.