When you’re in an accident, you expect your car’s various features to do their job and minimize impact and harm. However, when your front seatback fails, you could be facing serious injury that can deeply affect your life. Hiring a seatback failure lawyer in Charlotte can help you understand your options and pursue a claim against the manufacturer whose defective seatback contributed to your injuries.
Shane Smith Law is dedicated to fighting for you and getting results after you’ve been injured. Our team has over a century of combined experience and can provide knowledgeable and skilled service. The Charlotte product liability lawyer assigned to your case offers compassionate counsel and fierce representation that protects your rights as they navigate the intricacies of your claim.
Why Choose Shane Smith Law to Help You Navigate Your Case
Shane Smith Law can help you when you have wrongfully suffered injuries in a crash, made worse by a failed seatback. Our team can help you navigate your car accident claim and seatback failure claim so that you can get justice by holding at-fault parties accountable. You are our top priority throughout your case, and we are committed to providing strong advocacy for you.
Seatback failure cases can be complicated, and our Charlotte personal injury lawyers know what steps to take to pursue favorable results. During our first conversation, we walk you through filing your claim, the strategies that we can use and customize in your case, your rights, and how we can negotiate for you. Regardless of what challenges may arise, we fight for you and stand by your side.
Speak with a Charlotte seatback failure lawyer, and get a free consultation today.
Call (980) 294-4931What Constitutes Seatback Failure
Seatback failure occurs when the upright portion of a vehicle’s front seat collapses during a crash, exacerbating the potential for injury. This issue is generally caused by defects in the product. Instead of providing support, a crash can cause flawed seatbacks to collapse and stretch out flat. This can cause serious injuries or worsen them because it contributes to another impact.
For a product, like a failed seatback, to be considered defective, it must contain a flaw in the inherent design of the product, a flaw in the manufacturing of the product, or a failure to warn about potential dangers of a product. Design flaws compromise the structural integrity of a seatback, while a manufacturing flaw affects only the products that were made before the production mistake was caught.
During your case, lawyers may use accident reconstruction in personal injury claims to digitally reenact the event using computer software. This can provide valuable insight and evidence to show how the seatback was supposed to act during a collision and what caused it to fail. Our team can also gather expert testimony and other evidence to demonstrate the product’s defects.
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Navigate Liability With the Aid of a Charlotte Seatback Failure Attorney
Unlike product liability in other states, North Carolina doesn’t apply strict liability. Instead of holding a manufacturer liable simply based on the issuance of a flawed product, you must instead demonstrate that they were negligent or breached the product’s warranty. Your lawyer can explain the elements of a product liability claim and help you build a strong case that establishes the manufacturer’s fault.
To establish negligence, you must provide evidence that shows a few key pieces of information. First, you must show that the manufacturer had a duty of care to ensure the seatback was safe. Next, you must show that the manufacturer breached their duty to you in some way. As a result, their actions caused the seatback to fail and resulted in your damages, for which they must compensate you.
It is important to know that if you are found partially at fault in any way for contributing to your vehicle’s seatback failure, you could be held liable. Since North Carolina is one of the few states that follows contributory negligence laws, you could be barred from recovering compensation for even 1% of fault. Regardless of the situation, it’s important to work with a lawyer to navigate liability after an accident.
Recoverable Damages in a Seatback Failure Case in Charlotte
Seatback failure can contribute to additional injuries, which can increase your expenses and suffering after an accident. To minimize the burden on you and your family, you can pursue a settlement that helps cover the cost of your various losses so you can get the resources you need to heal and cover expenses. Compensation can help you cover some of the following losses:
- Initial, ongoing, and future medical expenses related to your accident injuries
- Lost wages or earning potential when your injuries prevent you from working
- Cost to repair or replace the damage to your vehicle
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional and mental anguish
- Inability to enjoy the same quality of life
- Loss of consortium
To determine how much your case is worth, a Charlotte seatback failure lawyer can talk with your doctors, reconstructionists, repair shops, and other experts to determine the value of your losses following an accident. With this information and the evidence to back it up, we can effectively negotiate a fair settlement in your case.
Don’t Wait Long to Pursue Compensation
To file a seatback failure claim in Charlotte, you must take action within three years of the accident (N.C.G.S. § 1-52).
Once the statute of limitations expires, you lose your right to recover compensation and must bear the cost of your losses yourself. Reach out to our team after your accident and let us get started on your case right away.
Shane Smith Law is Ready to Help You Pursue Your Claim
Shane Smith Law is equipped to help you navigate your seatback failure case and recover fair compensation for your losses.
Defective products like these can have profound consequences, and we work diligently to ensure that manufacturers are held accountable. Contact a seatback failure attorney in Charlotte today to schedule a free consultation. In pain? Call Shane!
