Automobiles have long been a fundamental part of our daily life providing the means to get to work, schools, stores and vacation destinations just to name a few daily uses. The average American take three car rides on any given day. Automobiles have become so prevalent that they currently exceed the U.S. population. While the experienced auto accident attorneys at Nahon, Saharovich & Trotz know that safety requirements and standards imposed by the government have improved, those requirements sometimes fall short permitting automakers to put profit margin above public safety. Some recent examples of product defects in the auto industry putting consumers at risk include the following:

• SUV rollover accidents resulting because of a low center of gravity and weak roof structure

• Toyota acceleration accidents

• SUV accidents caused by blowouts from defective tires

While these are some of the most newsworthy product defect issues with automobiles recently, other dangers may be posed by defective door latches, windows, fuel systems, air bags, seat belts and tires. At NST Law, we recognize that sometimes a product liability lawsuit is the only way to ensure that automobile manufacturers correct dangerous defects that may lead to catastrophic Tennessee auto accidents.

The threat of punitive damages in a product liability lawsuit can be an effective supplement to government standards and regulations to discourage automobile manufacturers from treating the cost of providing compensation for serious injuries including spinal chord, head and neck, brain injuries and even death as simply the “cost of doing business.” While government regulations and standards can help, they tend to be reactive as opposed to proactive in nature. Government regulation frequently does not occur until after a problem has become public, and consumers have been injured or killed. The threat of punitive damages from potential product liability lawsuits provides an incentive to car manufacturers to take proactive remedial measures before anyone is hurt or killed.

The Ford Pinto case is the seminal example of an automobile manufacturer failing to provide safe vehicles because of a conscious choice to put profit margin above public safety. Ford designed the Pinto as a fuel-efficient alternative to Japanese vehicles and hastily rushed the Pinto to market. Engineers at Ford discovered during pre-production crash tests that Pinto gas tanks would rupture in relatively low impact collisions. Ford had finished tooling the machines for production before the test results so they decided to begin manufacturing the cars despite awareness of the serious defect.

A memorandum became public that showed Ford had made a conscious decision to allow consumers to be hurt or even killed based on an appalling cost-benefit analysis that would become symbolic of corporate irresponsibility. A company memorandum was exposed wherein the company estimated that the cost of fixing the defect would be $11 per car totaling $121 million dollars. According to the memorandum, the company estimated the cost of paying settlement for the cases where the defect led to serious injury or death would be only $50 million.

Based on this appalling cost-benefit analysis, Ford trudged ahead with production of the Pinto defective fuel tank and all without making any changes or warning consumers. The Pinto litigation led to a huge punitive damage award to punish Pinto and discourage such future economic analysis. The Pinto case provided a warning to companies that they could not simply ignore an obvious risk to consumers because it would be cheaper to pay compensatory damages to those who are injured.

Product liability law for defects that lead to Tennessee auto accidents combined with the court’s ability to award punitive damages to discourage such callous economic analysis is an important part of product liability cases. At NST Law, we understand that the purpose of a product liability claim in a car accident case is both to compensate you or your loved ones and to ensure obvious defects are not ignored or disregarded leading to Tennessee car accidents resulting in catastrophic injury or death.

If you or someone you love has been injured in a Tennessee auto accident, the experienced auto accident lawyers at Nahon, Saharovich & Trotz have the experience and skill to help you seek compensation for your injuries. The experienced Tennessee auto accident attorneys of NST Law have been nationally recognized by Super Lawyers, which rates the top 5% of lawyers in the country. Nahon, Saharovich & Trotz is the largest plaintiff’s law firm in Tennessee that helps injured people recover compensation due to someone else’s negligence.