Sacramento is one of the most heavily trafficked cities in California. This is because the city’s history, culture, natural beauty, and many other factors draw in potential residents and tourists every year. With over 500,000 residents and over 15 million tourists coming in every year, there is no doubt that the streets in the city are often swarming with vehicles.
As the number of people on the road increases, the possibilities of accidents increase as well.
Assuming you or someone you know got hurt in an accident caused by a mechanical defect in Sacramento, you actually have the right to take legal action, whether that’s against the manufacturer, a repair shop, or someone who sold faulty parts. And if that sounds overwhelming, talking to a Sacramento auto accident attorney can help you figure out what to do next.
Common Defects That Cause Accidents
Here are some common mechanical defects that cause accidents:
Brake failures
Your car’s brakes are its most important safety system, but they’re also one of the most failure-prone when something is wrong underneath the surface. Brake defects can happen for several reasons, including bad materials used in the pads or rotors, improperly installed components, or hydraulic issues caused by manufacturer oversight.
In some cases, brakes deteriorate quickly because of poor design, which allows excessive heat buildup or moisture intrusion. In others, the issue starts at the factory, where corners are cut to save money on parts. Or maybe your mechanic skipped important steps during a repair and didn’t bleed the system correctly.
If there’s evidence that the failure stemmed from a design flaw or poor workmanship, you may be able to hold the manufacturer, parts supplier, or repair shop legally responsible.
Steering system defects
A steering system defect is one of the most dangerous types of mechanical failures because it affects your ability to control the vehicle entirely. You might notice the steering wheel becomes unresponsive, feels loose, pulls to one side, or locks up while you’re driving.
These issues can come from defective power steering pumps, worn-out linkages, or electronic glitches in modern drive-by-wire systems.
In some cases, these problems only show up under stress, such as when you’re turning quickly or braking hard. If the failure leads to a crash, then it’s a mechanical breakdown. And if that defect was preventable, such as a faulty sensor that should have been recalled, then it becomes a legal issue as well.
Airbag malfunctions
Airbags are supposed to protect you, not hurt you. But defective airbags have been at the center of many product liability lawsuits in the past decade, including the massive Takata recall that affected millions of vehicles worldwide.
There are different types of airbag defects: some fail to deploy in a crash; others deploy too late or too forcefully. In the worst cases, the airbag explodes and sends sharp metal fragments flying toward the driver or passengers. These defects can actually be life-threatening.
If your injuries in a crash were made worse because the airbag malfunctioned, that could be grounds for a lawsuit. These kinds of injuries are well-documented, and in many cases, the defect is already part of a known recall or pattern that can strengthen your case.
Legal Options Available for You
If you’ve been a victim, these are the legal options that are available for you to pursue:
Product liability against the manufacturer
Product liability is a law that holds manufacturers and sellers accountable for putting unsafe products into the market. If a vehicle part, like a steering column, brake line, or airbag, was defective in its design or manufacturing, the company that made or sold that part could be held liable.
You don’t have to prove they were reckless, just that the part was unreasonably dangerous when used as intended. There are three main kinds of defects that apply here:
- Design defects, where the product is inherently unsafe from the start.
- Manufacturing defects, where a mistake happens during the production process.
- Failure to warn, where the product didn’t come with adequate instructions or warnings about known risks.
If a defect in one of these categories caused your crash, the law may allow you to seek compensation for things like medical costs, lost wages, and long-term injuries.
Mass torts and class action lawsuits
If the defect that caused your accident has affected other drivers too, you may not be the only one. When many people suffer harm from the same issue, such as defective airbags or a flawed brake system, they often join together in a class action or mass tort lawsuit.
These collective lawsuits help level the playing field against massive corporations. Instead of everyone hiring a lawyer individually, victims share legal resources and evidence. It can be more efficient and cost-effective, especially when the same defect is causing injury after injury.
Joining a class action doesn’t mean less compensation either; if the case is successful, everyone in the group may receive a payout based on their level of harm.
