Drivers and car owners are responsible for keeping their vehicles in safe working order. If they neglect to monitor for parts breaking down and a mechanical failure causes a collision, the driver would often be held accountable.
In some cases, an auto repair shop, a parts manufacturer, or a vehicle maker could also be liable for a breakdown that caused a crash.
If you are struck by a California driver who claims a mechanical failure caused a collision, a skilled attorney can help you determine every party that should be helping you with recovery costs. Maison Law offers a free, no-obligation case consultation to help you figure out what your injuries and damages are worth, and how to hold an at-fault party’s insurer fully responsible.
When to Have an Attorney After a Car Accident
It’s wise to discuss your case with a lawyer if you are hurt in an accident and come away with serious injuries. That might include a broken wrist or ankle bone. It would include head trauma. It could include a serious neck or back injury.
These injuries mean more time seeing doctors, more time missed at work, and potentially making much bigger settlement amounts necessary. The rising costs frighten car insurance companies and make them put up more barriers to you getting support.
Insurance adjusters will try to limit what you receive, and you can end up losing a lot in support when a lawyer isn’t monitoring their every move.
Your attorney fights back and provides these powerful advantages and more:
- Fully investigates your accident and collects all evidence.
- Can hire an accident reconstruction team. Their data may be especially important in a case involving a mechanical failure.
- Make sure an at-fault driver proves that a mechanical failure was the true cause of an accident.
- Highlight the evidence if an insurer tries to blame you for an accident. Highlight the medical evidence if an insurer tries to question how badly you are hurt.
- Take on corporate lawyers if an auto maker or auto repair chain is liable for an accident.
- File a claim backed with evidence on your behalf, allowing you to focus on healing.
- Demand the most for you during settlement negotiations and reject any offer that doesn’t cover everything you’ve been through.
A skilled lawyer will often win victims much more for their injury recoveries than they could win for themselves. Victims can always file their own claims, but with a serious injury, there’s usually a better outcome with the protection of a California car accident lawyer.
Discovering Fault in a Mechanical Failure Accident
All California drivers on busy Highways like 99 and Freeway 5 owe the motorists in the next lane a duty of care. On city boulevards, that duty to avoid unsafe actions also extends to the pedestrians crossing the street, and the bicyclists in bike lanes or sharing regular lanes.
The opposite side of that legal duty is the responsibility to take action that prevents accidents. That extends to the maintenance of vehicles. Drivers must not neglect inspections, repairs, and upkeep that prevent their breakdowns and their cars from running out of control.
In many cases, it’s drivers who ignore the signs of wear and tear that leave them liable when a brake pad crumbles or bald tires send vehicles sliding.
California drivers can raise the risk of accidents by not maintaining and paying attention to these and other components of a car:
- Brakes and brake lines
- Tires
- Electrical issues
- Axel damage
- A malfunction with AI software that makes lane-assist possible
- A steering issue
- Ignoring warning lights and warning sounds
These and other problems, and ignoring them, can leave drivers at fault when they can’t stop for a red light or a blown tire sends them into vehicles next to them.
Other parties might have to accept blame or at least part of the blame in an accident.
- A car manufacturer that sold an unsafe car
- A parts manufacturer or tire supplier that provided unsafe brakes, lines, tires, or other equipment
- An auto shop owner whose mechanics improperly installed parts or tires
A skilled attorney could help hold companies and corporations liable for their faulty parts or entire vehicles. Your attorney would also be checking for recalls that may have been involved.
Claiming a “Sudden Emergency” After a Mechanical Failure Accident
In some cases, a driver who lost brakes or suffered a tire blowout might claim it was sudden and without warning. Under the state’s Sudden Emergency Doctrine (explained in the California Civil Jury Instructions CACI No. 452.), drivers who can prove they didn’t get a warning about an imminent breakdown might be let off the hook for liability in an accident.
In such a case, no fault would be assigned, and both drivers would need to file claims against their own insurers to earn support.
If this happens to you, your insurer may not provide any injury support unless you have expensive coverage add-ons such as “collision” or “MedPay.” A skilled attorney would raise serious questions about the at-fault driver’s knowledge of accident risks and look to earn you full compensation for your damages and injuries.
Taking Advantage of a Free Consultation with a Real California Lawyer
If your accident involves a serious injury, and someone else was to blame, it’s always a good idea to speak with an experienced attorney before talking to a careless driver’s insurer. To find out about your best options, take advantage of a free case consultation with a California car accident lawyer who is ready to help.
There’s no obligation for your free case review, but if you feel Maison Law can help you earn more for your claim, you don’t have to worry about having money to hire us. There are no upfront costs. We don’t get paid unless we win your case for you. Then our fee comes out of the settlement money you and your family receive.
