If you believe your brakes were faulty or defective and that caused your accident or injury, you should reach out to professionals for some crucial opinions.
Brakes are one of the most important components of a car. They play a vital role in the driver’s ability to maneuver and avoid dangerous situations. If brakes are defective or their installation was improperly done, the liability of a resulting car accident may not fall on the driver.
Faulty Brake Accidents
When brakes fail, typically that will mean that the driver loses their ability to stop the vehicle. Even a delayed response from the brakes can be enough to cause a variety of collisions. The most common type of car accident connected to brake problems is the standard rear-end collision. Unfortunately, if a car’s brake system fails completely, the speed at which the cars collide can cause serious personal injury and property damage.
Almost as dangerous as the inability to stop is the inability to predict a stop. If there is a problem with a car’s brakes, the vehicle may slow down or stop unexpectedly. Another sign of problems with a vehicle’s brakes is coming to a full stop when the driver applies light pressure on the brake pedal to simply slow down the car. If the responsiveness of the brake system has been altered, this can quickly cause a collision.
Faulty brakes can also be the source of uneven braking. If a vehicle brakes unevenly, it can be pulled to one side of the road, which can cause collisions or force the car off the road, sometimes even flipping it.
Are Your Brakes Defective?
Brakes are one of the parts of a car that need regular maintenance and replacements. Not taking care of your brakes and changing out brake pads does not mean that your brakes are defective. In that situation, the driver responsible for the car’s maintenance would likely be liable for an accident caused by unmaintained brakes. However, if parts of the brake system need to be frequently replaced, it may be a sign of improper installation or faulty parts.
Automobile manufacturers have strict regulation that guides when they must issue recalls for the safety of drivers. If any type of recall has been issued for your vehicle make and model, it is now your responsibility to follow up and complete the recommended servicing, especially for a part as integral to safety as your brakes.
Determining Liability
In almost all rear-end collisions law case results, the rear driver is found liable for the accident. There is a strong precedent that the rear driver must leave enough space between vehicles to brake in time. However, if faulty or defective brakes may have contributed to or caused your accident, the liability may fall elsewhere.
Brakes that came defective from the manufacturer may be covered under product liability or be the result of negligence. Both of these are common causes of action for personal injury lawsuits, and any experienced personal injury attorney will be able to advise you on your best next steps.
In some cases, problems with the brake system may be the result of improper installation or other choices that a car repair or maintenance technician made. You may be able to use their negligence to clear your name and stop being liable for the damage and injuries caused by your accident.
However, proving that there was a mistake in the installation of a car part after the vehicle has gone through an accident can be challenging, and it requires the assistance of technical expert witnesses.
What to Do Next
If you believe your brakes were faulty or defective and that caused your accident or injury, you should reach out to professionals for some crucial opinions. An attorney should be your first call, even before you repair your car. You will need to keep your vehicle in a secure lot until it can be reviewed by an expert witness, and your attorney can recommend the best course of action.
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