What is my legal recourse if a care repair resulted in a mechanical failure that could have killed me?

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What is my legal recourse if a care repair resulted in a mechanical failure that could have killed me?

My vehicle was at a national service chain. I had rear brakes done, tires and a right front drive shaft and a right front ball joint. 2 hours after I left the shop I had a massive failure on my left side ball joint and shaft. I was very lucky that I wasn’t killed. I would think that if they inspected and repaired the front end properly this wouldn’t have happened. Do I have any recourse for damages done to my vehicle?

Asked on August 5, 2011 Illinois

Answers:

SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney

Answered 12 years ago | Contributor

If the service shop was negligent--or unreasonably careless--or committed intentional fraud (e.g. claimed to inspect, when it did not), or used a defective part, etc., and, as a result your car suffered damage, you may sue them for that damage. (If the problem was a defective part, you may also have a cause of action against the supplier and/or manufacturer of the part). If the damage and cost to repair is a few hundred dollars, you may wish to look into suing in small claims court; if it's, say, $1,500 or more, you'd probably be better off retaining a lawyer, if the shop will not voluntarily pay your losses. There is no recovery, by thhe  way, for almost dying, not so long as you were not in fact injured--if  you were not hurt, you may only recover the property damage. Good luck.


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