Auto Defects’ Category
SUV, Pickup Truck Accidents Not As Dangerous As Before
Sunday, October 2nd, 2011
For years, it had been an accepted truth for Houston car accident lawyers - occupants of passenger cars and minivans involved in accidents with sports utility vehicles and pickup trucks, had a much higher risk of dying in the accident, than if they had been involved in an accident with other passenger cars and minivans. Fortunately, those risks to smaller vehicle occupants are dropping.
According to a study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, the number of people dying in passenger car and minivan accidents involving SUVs and pickup trucks has declined. There are two major reasons...
Survey Reveals Need for Good Driving Examples for Teens
Monday, May 23rd, 2011
Car accidents continue to remain the number one cause of death for American teenagers. That fact of life has not changed despite the decline in traffic accident fatalities over the past few years. Now, a new study by Ford Motor Company seems to indicate that many undesirable teen driving practices like speeding and distracted driving, may be picked up right at home.
According to the survey, 82% of teenagers reported seeing their parents displaying undesirable driving practices on the road. These practices include driving at excessive speeds and using a cell phone or texting while driving. As a Read More »
Car Safety Bill Would Prevent Houston Companies From Renting out Recalled Cars
Thursday, March 10th, 2011
A new bill that has been introduced by Sen. Charles Schumer would prevent rental car companies from renting out cars that have been included in a recall list. The three major car rental agencies in the US have already made clear their opposition to any such legislation.
The bill by Sen. Schumer is based on statistics by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which found that the practice of renting out cars on a recall list without repairs is widely prevalent among some of the biggest rental car companies in the US. The study by the National Highway Traffic Safety...
Airbag Failures Responsible for Hundreds of Auto Accident Fatalities
Thursday, December 23rd, 2010
A report by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration seems to indicate that airbag failures could have been a factor in hundreds of fatal accidents over the past few years. In fact, the television investigation conducted by Channel 4I, indicates that airbag systems might have failed in approximately 576 fatal accidents over a six-year period.
That may not seem like such a huge number. However, the study took only a small sampling of fatal accidents during that period of time, and also counted only those accidents that resulted in fatalities, not those that ended only in serious injuries....
Deadly Accident Brings Attention to 15-Passenger Van Risks
Friday, October 8th, 2010
A devastating 15-passenger van accident last week is once again underscoring to Houston product liability lawyers the dangers of these vehicles.
The accident occurred in New York, and involved a van that was carrying members of a Bronx church to a religious event. According to news reports, the left rear tire of the van blew out, causing the van to flip over. Several of the passengers were ejected, and six of them sustained fatal injuries.
Consumer safety groups like Public Citizen have once again raised questions about the fact that these vans are still operating on our roads in spite of...
Toyota’s 15th Recall of 2010
Tuesday, September 7th, 2010
Sometime during the last month, Toyota marked a safety milestone of sorts. No. The company did not make a solemn promise to itself that it would never brush safety issues under the carpet and would be forthright with customers and federal agencies from now on. Instead, Toyota marked its 15th vehicle recall of the year. This latest one involved 1.1 million Corollas and Matrixes for stalling problems that can cause the car to stall in traffic.
The announcement of the recall came just a few days after the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced that it would intensify...
Texas Tire Dealer Named in Wrongful Death Lawsuit
Friday, August 27th, 2010
A tire dealer is named in a wrongful death lawsuit arising out of a fatal hydroplaning accident in Texas in 2009. The victim had just purchased two new tires for the front of her Chrysler Sebring. The rear tires remained worn out. As she was driving during a rainstorm, she lost control of her car, and crashed into a school bus.
Her children claim in the lawsuit that the tire dealer, South Gateway Tire Company should have warned her that having two new tires installed in the front and leaving the rear tires unchanged, could increase the risk of an...
Federal Grand Jury Subpoenas Toyota, Orders Company to Submit Steering Rod Defect Records
Wednesday, July 21st, 2010
A New York federal grand jury has subpoenaed Toyota to order the company to submit information about its 2005 recall linked to steering rod defects. The subpoena comes after federal authorities began investigations into the delay in initiating the 2005 recall.
In 2004, Toyota informed the federal administration that it would be recalling thousands of vehicles from the Japanese market because of steering rod problems. However, the company said, there would be no need to recall the vehicles from the American market because the problems seemed to be exclusive to Japanese cars. However, just nine months later, the...
Automakers Oppose Removal of Federal Preemption in Auto Safety Bill
Friday, July 9th, 2010
The auto maker lobby is up in arms against a bill that was almost attached to the far-reaching auto safety legislation approved by a Senate committee this week. The provision would make it easier for American consumers to hold automakers responsible for injuries caused by defects in their vehicles in a civil court.
The provision would have removed federal preemption from product liability lawsuits. Federal preemption prevents consumers from bringing product liability lawsuits against automakers in state courts, if the vehicles pass federal safety regulations. It is a doctrine that has prevented thousands of Americans from recovering justice when they...
Study Reveals Current Seatbelt, Airbag Designs May Not Be Ideal
Thursday, June 24th, 2010
Current seat belt and airbag designs may not be doing enough to protect the obese and very thin from serious injuries or fatalities in an accident. Those findings come via a study conducted by researchers at the University Of Michigan Transportation Research Institute.
The researchers were looking at how a person's Body Mass Index impacts his ability to survive serious injuries or death in an accident. To do this, the researchers looked at crash data of over 297,000 accidents between 1998 and 2008. They then looked at crash data, and compared them on the basis of the victim’s/survivor’s Body Mass...
