In lieu of the three recent Toyota recalls, many people are asking what legal options they may have if they have been injured in an accident involving a recalled vehicle, according to Los Angeles personal injury attorney Emery Ledger of Ledger & Associates. With over 8.5 million vehicles recalled in three separate recalls over the last six months, the number of accidents and deaths attributable to recalled vehicles continues to climb. The latest reports link over 50 deaths and hundreds of accidents to recalled Toyota manufactured vehicles. According to complaint filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), complaints involving accidents go back as far as the mid 1990’s, although cars that old are not currently part of one of the recalls. If you have been injured in an accident with a recalled vehicle, what are your legal options?
According to Los Angeles personal injury attorney Emery Ledger of Ledger & Associates, you may have a personal injury claim against the manufacturer. While each car accident has a unique set of facts, they all operate under the rules of negligence. Negligence, in legal terms, means fault or blame. In most car accidents, the negligent party is one of the drivers involved in the accident. Maybe someone ran a stop light or drifted into another lane. These are typical examples of negligence. You may not realize that a company can also be negligent.
Negligence basically requires that four elements be proven: Duty of care; breach of duty; causation; and damages, says Los Angeles personal injury attorney Emery Ledger. A vehicle manufacturer generally owes a duty of care to the people that will be driving, or riding, in a vehicle that they produce. If they have produced a vehicle with a defective part, then the argument is that they have breached their duty of care to the passengers in the vehicle. If that defective part is the cause of the accident, then causation has been met. Lastly, if someone is injured in the accident, then the damages element has also been met. While this is an overly simplified analysis of the elements of negligence, it gives you an idea how a vehicle manufacturer can be held responsible for injuries suffered in a car accident.
Additionally, in many states – California among them – more than one party can be held responsible for an accident. This is called a “comparative negligence” theory, according to Los Angeles personal injury attorney Emery Ledger. What this means is that a vehicle manufacturer and a driver could both share the blame for and accident. Only an experienced Los Angeles personal injury attorney can evaluate the specific facts and circumstances surrounding your case, but if you have been injured in a car accident involving a recalled vehicle, then you should seek the guidance of an attorney as soon as possible.
For an evaluation of you case, or if you would like additional information, contact Los Angeles personal injury attorney Emery Ledger of Ledger & Associates at 1-800-300-0001 or visit him online at www.ledgerlaw.com.
