Recall News from Wisconsin Personal Injury Lawyers
More than 2 million Jeeps to be recalled
On behalf of Milwaukee personal injury attorney Ric Domnitz of Domnitz & Domnitz, S.C. posted in Car Accidents on Wednesday, June 19, 2013.
We noted in a prior post the potential danger late model Jeep Grand Cherokees had for fatal accidents due to the positioning of its gas tank. Research conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found that if another car rear-ended the Cherorkee at a high rate of speed a fire could ensue which threatens the safety of its occupants.
Because of this, the NHTSA recommended that Chrysler (Jeep’s parent company) recall these vehicles so that safety enhancements could be added. However, Chrysler resisted; explaining that the danger was remote and unnecessary given the cost of such a recall.
The decision caused a standoff between the automaker and federal regulators and threatened to spark additional action to get Chrysler to comply. This ostensibly included public hearings where victims of horrific accidents would testify and tell their stories of fuel tank fires caused by rear-end collisions, and would have led to a public relations nightmare for Chrysler.
The potential for lost sales was likely the impetus for the automaker’s change of heart. It quickly reversed course and reported that it would allow owners to add trailer hitches to vehicles that previously did not have them. Chrysler explained that the hitch adds more protection for gas tanks.
Automakers have a legal duty to protect against (and correct) defects that could lead to accidents and injuries. Reasonable care must be taken to ensure that consumers are protected from such dangers, and a product recall is a common example of how an automaker satisfies such a duty.
The recall will affect Jeep Grand Cherokees built between 1993 and 2004, as well as Jeep Liberty models between 2002 and 2007.
Source: ABC News.com, Chrysler agrees to recall of Jeeps at risk of fire, June 18, 2013
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