Federal officials investigate Chrysler SUV recall
May 28, 2015On behalf of Terence Gross of Gross & Schuster, P.A. posted in Car Accidents on Thursday, June 19, 2014.
Officials from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration initiated an investigation earlier this month into a Chrysler recall of Jeep Liberty sports utility vehicles from 2002 and 2003, as well as Jeep Grand Cherokee sports utility vehicles from 2002 to 2004. Nearly 745,000 of these vehicles were recalled in 2012 because of potential degradation in the airbag circuits. In total, 81 crashes occurred in the United States because of the defect, but no crashes were reported.
Despite Chrysler’s attempt to address the problem, the manufacturer has received complaints about the airbags deploying when they weren’t supposed to in recent months. The airbags would reportedly deploy while the vehicles were in operation. While no crashes occurred in connection with the defect, victims did report cuts and burns.
Sports utility vehicles, of course, are quite popular in the United States. Because of the unique characteristics of sports utility vehicles, it is imperative that they have properly functioning airbags, particularly in the event of rollovers. This is especially the case with side curtain airbags. Auto manufacturers have the responsibility to ensure that the safety features they market are actually functional in the vehicles they sell.
Those who are harmed in an SUV accident have the right to seek compensation from all parties who contributed to the accident. This is often other motorists, but it may also involve the manufacturer of the vehicles. Separate causes of action may be necessary to obtain the full range of compensation for such individuals, thus it is important to work with an experienced attorney
Source: The Blade, “Chrysler SUV recall probed by U.S. safety regulators,” June 3, 2014.
