Product Defects and Truck Accidents

When you are involved in a New Jersey truck accident, one of the first things that your lawyer must do is figure out who was at fault. Sometimes, this is not so easy. Often, the at-fault party isn’t even on the roadway. This can occur when a product defect is responsible for the accident.

Many truck crashes are caused by blown tires, defective brakes or the failure of other defective truck parts. Sometimes, the accident itself is not caused by a faulty product, but your injuries are. An example would be a defective seat belt in your own car. A broken seat belt probably won’t cause a truck to hit you, but it could certainly cause you to sustain greater injuries in a truck accident.

One of the more catastrophic types of part failures involves fuel tanks. While fuel tanks rarely cause accidents to occur, a poorly designed fuel tank can make injuries from a truck accident much worse. Faulty fuel tanks can lead to fires and explosions, which can cause one to suffer burns and serious injury.

The lawyers at Davis, Saperstein & Salomon, P.C., will do whatever is necessary to hold manufacturers accountable if they are responsible for your injuries. We have a long record of helping truck accident victims throughout New Jersey and New York. To learn how we can assist you, call us today at 1-800-LAW-2000 or contact us online.

Establishing Manufacturer Liability in Truck Accident Cases

Proving a product defect truck accident case is extremely complicated. Forensic experts need to reconstruct the accident to figure out exactly what went wrong and who was responsible. Other experts will need to testify in court. Our lawyers may have to search through records of repairs and manufacturing to determine which party is at fault. Often, the manufacturer of defective truck parts is located outside of America such as in Europe or China.

There are three different ways that manufacturers are typically held responsible for a defective truck part:

• Manufacturing Defect – This occurs when a specific copy of a product leaves the manufacturer’s possession in an unsafe state. Manufacturing defects are usually due to some type of error or flaw in the manufacturing process. An example would be a part that comes out of the assembly line missing a screw that is supposed to be there.
• Design Defect – This occurs when every copy of a product possesses a flaw which makes it dangerous. This happens because the design of the product is what makes it unsafe. A product that simply cannot do the job it is intended to in a safe way is often found to have a defective design.
• Failure to Warn – Some products have to be dangerous in order to work. It is a manufacturer’s job to warn about these dangers. Failure to include warning labels and stickers can lead to liability if the product causes injury. For example, if a part needs to be changed every 100,000 miles, but the manufacturer does not mention this on the packaging or in an installation manual, failure of the part could potentially be found to be a defect due to failure to warn.

In addition to showing that there was a defect, your lawyer must always prove that the defect actually led to your injury. This often requires accident reconstruction experts and experienced lawyers who know how to handle very detailed evidence. For this reason, Davis, Saperstein & Salomon, P.C., always hires biomechanical and medical expert witnesses.

Our Lawyers Help New Jersey and New York Truck Accident Victims in Product Defect Cases

The lawyers at Davis, Saperstein & Salomon, P.C., will work hard to hold the manufacturer or seller of a defective truck part responsible for your injuries. Our firm handles cases in New York and New Jersey. Simply call us today at 1-800-LAW-2000 or use our online form to schedule a free initial consultation.