Can I sue a carmanufacturer for a head-on collusion into a median ditch,if the air bags did not deploy?

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Can I sue a carmanufacturer for a head-on collusion into a median ditch,if the air bags did not deploy?

Asked on November 8, 2011 under Personal Injury, Virginia

Answers:

SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney

Answered 12 years ago | Contributor

If the failure to deploy caused you or a passenger injury and was due to something the manufacturer did (e.g. bad design or manufacture), then you certainly sue them. Even if you're not sure whether the failure was caused by something the manufacturer did or something someone else did (e.g. maybe the dealership deactivated them while performing maintenance, then forgot to turn them on), as long as there was injury you could sue the manufacturer--and also any other party (like the dealer) who might be liable, then look in the lawsuit to determine and assign liability.

If there was no injury, there's no point in suing. Except in rare cases involving deliberate malicious wrongoing or behavior grossly or wantonly negligent about possible consequences--i.e. "bad behavior," not just simple errors or carelessness--the law does not provide punative damages. Rather, you can only recover any amount in a lawsuit commensurate with injuries and direct costs caused by those injuries (e.g. medical costs). If the failure to deploy did not cause some significant injury or medical costs, you could not recover enough money in a lawsuit to even cover the cost of bringing it.


IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.

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