100% compensation for product liability cases!
Imagine this – you’re driving down the motorway at 70mph when your car engine suddenly shuts itself off. The consequences could be devastating and a sudden accident at those kinds of speeds can result in serious injuries and fatalities.
Sadly if you drive a General Motors car, with affected vehicles such as the Chevrolet Cobalt and HHR, Pontiac G5 and Solstice, and the Saturn Ion and Sky, this could happen to you according to recent sources from the BBC.
The toll of potentially affected vehicles is now in the 2.2m region according to the reports, with the problem being that the vehicle ignition switch is potentially liable to switch from “run” to the “accessory” or “off” position. Apparently employees of GM were aware of the problem as far back as 2004, and there are disputed fatality claims that are now said to be in the hundreds.
So where would a victim stand if the ignition switch failed due to a defect, resulting in an accident and injuries?
Normally in the UK we use the Supply of Goods and Services Act which puts a general duty on both the seller and manufacturer of a product, of which a car can be classified as a product, to be fit for purpose and safe to use. That’s the general gist of the legislation. So if there is a defect and this causes an injury, we need to prove that either the seller or manufacturer is in breach of the legislation to make a successful claim.
The fact that you can actually sue the seller is very helpful as it can allow you to make a claim under UK jurisdiction when a car may have been manufactured abroad. The seller is equally as liable, so even if they had no idea of a defect, they can still be held at fault.
It isn’t surprising that, given the high volume of potentially affected vehicles, GM are said to be disputing many of the incidents that have occurred so far. For one, it may not be very easy to actually prove that it was the ignition switch failure that caused an accident. In a high speed wreck, the car, or what’s left of it, may not be too useful as evidence if it’s smashed up…
Nevertheless, if this happens to you, always instruct a personal injury lawyer to assist with a potential claim!