Whether it is for something small or a significant part in a vehicle, you have likely gotten a recall notice about a vehicle at some point in your life. The little postcards and seemingly anonymous letters are easy to dismiss.
When you are the one injured by a recalled vehicle, however, those notifications feel more significant. Unfortunately, owners often ignore recall notices and continue driving vehicles that are in desperate need of repair.
Here’s what you need to know about your personal injury claim if your car accident involved a recalled vehicle.
Getting a recalled vehicle repaired
Part of owning a car is making sure it is in good repair and safe to drive around other vehicles. It can be expensive to maintain a car, but it is the most important job of a car owner. In the case of a recall, the repair is, typically, only inconvenient since auto manufacturers cover the cost of the repair.
With how often cars go from one owner to the next, it can be challenging for manufacturers and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to get notice to the right owner. With that in mind, NHTSA has a tool to help owners check for outstanding recalls for their vehicles.
Sadly, many vehicle owners either never receive the notice or ignore it with the hope that it will not cause a problem down the road. Manufacturers, also, do not go to great lengths to make sure repairs are completed with less than 70 percent getting the necessary repairs.
Determining fault
In many cases, getting enough evidence to find that the defect in the car caused the accident and was not an error on the part of the driver can be difficult. There are a lot of factors in deciding who is at fault for an accident, including speed, driving conditions and visibility on the road.
Ultimately, when there is enough evidence to show that a vehicle defect caused the accident, you will be able to pursue a claim against the manufacturer. Although the owner has an obligation to maintain their car, it can be challenging to show that the owner received timely notifications.