During the past few years, car recalls have continued to increase in the United States. In fact, according to the automobile research firm Edmunds, during 2016, 927 vehicle recalls affecting over 53 million vehicles were announced that year. With such a staggering amount of recalls that occurred that year, it’s bound to make consumers feel uncertain about whether any vehicle is safe.
According to Edmunds, whether your car is safe depends greatly on when it was manufactured and what its make and model are. Their research shows that most of the cars that ultimately get recalled aren’t new ones, but instead older ones that are discovered to have new problems.
Two of perhaps the largest automobile recalls in recent history occurred in just the past few years.
One involved as many as 30 million General Motors (GM) automobiles produced between 2004 and 2010 being recalled for having defective ignition switches. Over 120 individuals lost their lives when their car engines shut off mid-drive before the recall was ultimately made.
In another instance, over 40 million vehicles manufactured between 2002 and 2015 were recalled after engineers found that their onboard airbags had defective inflators. Ultimately 16 people died before the manufacturer who produced the metal cartridge, Takata Corp., recalled the vehicles equipped with them.
Other recalls in recent years have occurred because of software flaws, faulty tires or for some other reason.
Increased publicity of recalls on the nightly news or on social media has greatly increased consumer awareness of recalls. Both have made it possible for consumers to hear about stories of injuries or deaths that have resulted from these safety flaws as well.
When consumers who have been hurt try to take on the makers of defective products, they often find themselves in battle not all that different from when David and Goliath went up against one another. That’s why it’s important that consumers are represented by a Chicago personal injury attorney who is experienced at standing up for consumers against big businesses.