Buffalo, New York, Accelerator Defect Car Accidents

Jed Dietrich, Esq., Is a Recognized Super Lawyer Who Is Committed to Providing Unparalleled Personal Injury Service. If You, or a Loved One, Have Been Injured in a Buffalo, New York, Accelerator Defect Car Crash That Was Not Your Fault, The Dietrich Law Firm P.C. Could Help You Explore Your Best Options for Effective Legal Relief.

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Modern automobiles are significantly safer than their classic counterparts. Even compared to cars of the mid-20^th century, sedans and SUVs today undergo far more rigorous testing, with individual parts and components inspected for any sign of potential failure. Progress has been incremental, but researchers believe these safety improvements have likely saved hundreds of thousands of lives.

However, car manufacturers still make mistakes, often with alarming regularity. According to the United States Department of Transportation, automotive recalls are widespread, with nearly 1,000 recall notices issued annually. Reasons for recalls vary, but they are typically announced for faults likely to pose a substantial risk to consumer safety.

Although federal regulators and carmakers now take a proactive approach to car safety, some defects remain undetected, emerging only in specific vehicles and under rare conditions. In one recent incident, a married Grand Island couple traversing the Rainbow Bridge accelerated unexpectedly into a border security checkpoint, causing a massive explosion and several deaths. Investigators have tentatively suggested the possibility of a critical accelerator defect, which may have caused the couple’s car to gain speed at an unintended and uncontrollable rate.

Few definitive studies on the prevalence of accelerator defects exist, partly because experts have long struggled to identify large-scale accelerator failures caused by mechanical or electronic faults. Nevertheless, accelerator defects have prompted numerous recalls, including the recall of faulty systems tied to dozens of deaths and hundreds more injuries.

You should never be forced to bear the burden of a manufacturer’s mistakes. The Dietrich Law Firm P.C. is committed to helping motor vehicle accident victims advocate for their rights, and we have the results to prove it. Please send us a message online or call us at 716-839-3939 to speak to an accelerator defect attorney near Buffalo and schedule your 100% free, no-obligation consultation.

The Three Most Common Causes Of Accelerator Defect Motor Vehicle Accidents

Accelerator defects can prevent a motor vehicle from receiving operator inputs, making it more difficult for a car’s internal systems to regulate speed and maintain a consistent rate of acceleration. In a worst-case scenario, these defects can cause a sudden, uncontrollable increase in speed, a phenomenon sometimes termed “unintended acceleration.”

Unintended acceleration events are uncommon compared to other types of automotive defects. In fact, for many years, safety specialists debated whether any established instance of unintended acceleration could be attributed to mechanical or electrical failure rather than driver error.

However, over the past several decades, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has announced a series of recalls for suspected accelerator defects—defects that have not always culminated in actual accidents but posed sufficient risk to public safety to warrant revision.

The most common categories of accelerator defects include, but are not limited to, the following:

1. Electrical Defects: Electrical interference is believed to cause at least some unintended acceleration-related accidents. Some reports have found that introducing magnetic fields, which can be created by electrical circuitry surrounding metallic car parts, can increase engine speeds. However, proving the existence of any electrical defect can be challenging, partly because they do not always leave behind any evidence.
2. Software Defects: Modern automobiles often rely on computer interfaces, which translate driver inputs into mechanical commands. These commands are typically guided by software and other programming, which, if defective, could alter a vehicle’s functionality in dangerously unexpected ways. For example, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recently recalled around 38,000 Hyundai Elantra HEVs and four-door sedans. In its recall notice, regulators noted that using affected models’ brake pedals could trigger a software bug that causes “slow, unintended acceleration.”
3. Pedal and Floormat Design Defects: Improperly designed gas pedals and floormats can cause the accelerator to become stuck in place, causing an unintended acceleration event and, potentially, an accident. Pedal and floor mat design defects are not unusual, with confirmed reports dating back decades. Honda is among the latest companies forced to address a pedal and floormat design defect after a car dealership realized improperly installed gas pedals could collapse and cause the throttle to stick.

Accelerator defects have other potential causes, including the failure of throttle linkages and other mechanical parts. However, unlike other common types of automotive defects, accelerator failures and irregularities can occur in relative isolation. In other words, accelerator failures may only affect individual automobiles, necessitating a thorough investigation and an expert analysis.

Establishing Liability After An Accelerator Defect Car Crash

In New York, car manufacturers and automotive parts-makers are legally obligated to ensure their products are safe for everyday use. If a company fails to do its due diligence in designing and fabricating a component or system, it could be held liable for the costs of any resulting accident.

However, before they can succeed in court, accident victims must be able to establish the following three elements of every accelerator defect claim:

1. Existence of a Defect: An automobile manufacturer cannot be found at fault for an accelerator-related failure if the accelerator, or an interconnected system, was not defective. In New York, state-level courts recognize three types of defects that can form the basis of a product liability claim. These include design defects, manufacturing defects, and failure to warn defects.
2. Causation: A New York court can only award damages for a car accident caused by an accelerator defect if the accelerator defect was the proximate cause of the collision. Establishing causation is not always straightforward, even when the existence of the defect is not in doubt. In many cases, car companies try to limit their liability by arguing that the victim could have avoided the accident if they had exercised a reasonable measure of care, whether by responding to a recall notice or taking their car to a mechanic after noticing acceleration-related abnormalities.
3. Intended Use: A car accident survivor must be able to show that they were using their vehicle for its intended purpose. Under certain, limited circumstances, a company may not be liable for an accelerator defect if the affected vehicle had been heavily modified, used for recreational racing, or otherwise subjected to conditions that the manufacturer could not have anticipated.

Establishing the elements of an accelerator defect claim could prove unexpectedly challenging. Instead of admitting to their mistake and accepting liability, a carmaker might try to minimize its out-of-pocket losses by shifting blame onto the victim, alleging that its negligence and inattention played a critical role in the collision.

Unfortunately, absent any evidence of a design or manufacturing defect, victims often find themselves fighting an uphill battle against a multibillion-dollar corporation that would rather invest in a vigorous defense than open the floodgates to further financial losses.

You do not have to accept bad-faith negotiation in place of a reasonable recovery. The Dietrich Law Firm P.C.’s experienced team of accelerator defect car accident attorneys has spent decades helping injured Buffalonians fight for their rights. A recognized U.S. News & World Report Best Law Firm, we know what it takes to construct a compelling, evidence-based claim for compensation. Let us help you. Please message us online or call us at 716-839-3939 to speak to a team member and begin reclaiming your independence.

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Call the Dietrich Law Firm P.C. immediately at 716-839-3939 so that our aggressive, tenacious, and hardworking personal injury lawyers can fight to obtain the best result for your personal injury claim in Buffalo, New York. We are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and there is never a fee until we WIN for you!

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