The Latest Safety Recall Notice Actually Sounds Scary
Posted May 26th, 2016 by Anthony Carbone, PC.
Categories: Personal Injury.
Recall notices all have a purpose. Manufacturers recall products for safety reasons. Sometimes, the warnings do not seem so worrisome. Not necessarily the case when a car manufacturer implores you NOT to drive your vehicle AT ALL. Sounds pretty scary.
In case you missed it, recent news reports indicated that Subaru warned certain drivers to stop driving immediately. Apparently, there were concerns of steering failures on Subaru’s Legacy and Outback cars, from model years 2016 and 2017. More specifically, there is a chance that the steering column could fail.
Steering column failure sounds like something pretty serious. In fact, it seems to suggest that the driver would be unable to control the vehicle. Reason enough for the manufacturer to instruct owners not to drive their cars? We’d have to agree.
What about recalls? Where are they listed? Are there requirements? Let’s take a look.
Basic Understanding of Product Recalls
There are two basic databases to obtain information regarding product recalls. If you own a motor vehicle, the easiest way to check to see if it is subject to a recall is to search by the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN). The Safercar.gov database is maintained by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and contains the following information:
- Safety recalls that are incomplete on a vehicle
- Safety recalls conducted over the past 15 calendar years
- Safety recalls conducted by major light auto automakers, including motorcycle manufacturers
Of course, automobile manufacturers are not the only ones concerned with consumer safety. The United States Consumer Product Safety Commission retains information regarding other products that are recalled.
This database includes very important documentation. It is divided into a number of categories, including one entirely devoted to babies and children. Other groupings include electronics and home appliances. There are several other classifications of recalled products.
In some cases, the Consumer Product Safety Commission has actually engaged in lawsuits with manufacturers demanding that they recall defective products.
Failed products can cause serious personal injuries. As attorneys specializing in this type of law, we believe it is extremely important to investigate whether a manufacturer was aware of a product’s failure and attempted to remedy it.
We have worked on other cases involving car recalls. You can read about the problems with the Volkswagen “Clean Diesel” systems. As a result of software issues, a number of our clients became ill.
Contact Us
Were you or a loved one injured because of a product defect? At the Law Offices of Anthony Carbone, we have the resources to assist you. Please contact us to schedule an appointment to discuss your case.
