A class action automotive lawsuit might be an option anytime a design or manufacturing defect or other problem with a vehicle affects a group of people
Automotive manufacturers are responsible for designing and producing safe vehicles that do not put consumers at risk, but unfortunately, this does not always happen. There are also instances in which a repair or replacement is needed for the vehicle to operate properly and if the problem is caused by a design or manufacturing defect, consumers should not be responsible for paying for these repairs.
How do you know a class action automotive lawsuit might be appropriate?
- A problem with a car or truck has been present since you purchased the vehicle
- Similar issues are occurring on a particular make or model of vehicles
- People have been injured or killed because of a design or manufacturing flaw
- Recall notices are issued regarding a particular issue but people have already been injured
Current and recent class action automotive lawsuits include:
- Takata airbags exploded and cut, burned, bruised, and killed drivers and passengers
- GM ignition switches malfunctioned and caused serious and fatal vehicle crashes
- Self-driving vehicles caused accidents that injured passengers, drivers, and pedestrians
- Volkswagen vehicles polluted the environment after the manufacturer cheated emissions testing
Automotive class action lawsuits can be related to safety, repairs, maintenance, and even the transportation industry in general.
If you or a loved one were injured or inconvenienced by a design or manufacturing problem with a vehicle, you might be eligible to participate in a class action. Investigations are underway concerning a number of issue in the automotive industry and many of these situations will be resolved via class action automotive lawsuits because so many people were affected.
I’ve Been Notified of an Automotive Lawsuit Class Action, What’s It Mean?
If you’ve been notified that a class action automotive lawsuit is underway, you have a choice to make. Car manufacturers and dealers have the contact information for people who purchased vehicles and when a particular vehicle is affected by a class action, those people will be notified.
You should confirm that you are eligible to participate in the class action. Chances are if you received notification you are, but there are exceptions. If you are no longer the owner of the vehicle you might not be eligible to participate. However, if you no longer own the vehicle but can prove that you did and that you were affected by the issue, you might still be eligible to participate.
Keep in mind the notification of a class action is not a recall notice, though there might be a recall linked to the problem. In some cases, a class action will address the existence of or potential for a recall and whether or not participation in a class action will affect a recall.
If you receive notice of a class action automotive lawsuit, it will provide information for how to proceed. You’ll likely be directed to a website that has information about the lawsuit and/or the settlement and what you need to do to collect your piece of the settlement.
As the member of a class, you will not be required to hire your own automotive lawsuit attorney or to take anyone responsible for the problem to court on your own. All of the legal work is being done on your behalf as a member of the class. In most cases, the only thing required of you is waiving your right to take individual legal action.
If you or your loved one were affected by a problem with a vehicle, you might be eligible to participate in a class action automotive lawsuit. If no class action is underway but you believe a problem is widespread concerning the safety or operation of a vehicle, we can discuss your options. Contact us to learn more.
