Deadly Defective Vehicle Accidents | Tyroler Leonard Injury Law

Most car accidents happen due to driver-related causes. However, there can be cases when car accidents do not occur due to a drunk, speeding, or otherwise negligent driver, but rather are due to a defective vehicle part or component. Perhaps the manufacturer made an error in the vehicle’s design. A parts manufacturer might have created a defective part that ended up in many different models of vehicles. If a car repair shop failed to install a part correctly or selected the wrong part, it could break down and lead to an accident that results in injuries, property damage, or fatalities.

If you or a loved one suffered injuries or a fatality in an accident that happened as a result of a defective part or component in a vehicle, you could potentially recover compensation for your damages by suing the car manufacturer or other liable parties in your claim.

How Common Are Accidents From a Defective Part?

A car consists of countless different components, many of which could potentially contribute to an injury or fatal accident if they fail. How commonly do defective parts cause accidents? The latest data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) involved a study of accidents from 2005 to 2007. It showed a breakdown of the causes of accidents of:

Driver error, 94%
Vehicular error or malfunction, 2%
Environmental conditions, 2%
Unknown causes, 2%.

These percentages are similar to what our lawyers find when investigating the most common causes of fatal car accidents. It’s worth noting that some crashes attributed to driver error may have involved a vehicular malfunction. Perhaps investigators did not discover a defective part that caused the crash, because the part was destroyed in the accident. It’s possible that defective parts could represent a higher percentage of crashes if the investigators were specifically looking for issues with a defective vehicle.

Unfortunately, drivers of defective vehicles may not even know that their vehicle could be dangerous. Vehicle part and component defects can be caused by:

Mistakes during the manufacturing of the vehicle
Poor vehicle design
Using defective car parts in the manufacturing process
Using defective products for the repair of a vehicle
Damage to the vehicle during service or repair.

If your accident happened due to a manufacturing defect, bad design, or faulty product, a car manufacturer or parts manufacturer could potentially be liable for your damages.

Common Vehicle Defects That Can Lead to a Wrongful Death Claim

Various causes of deadly defective vehicle accidents are possible. Vehicle defects can occur in the supply chain at a vehicle parts manufacturer or during the manufacturing of the vehicle. Defects can also happen when a mechanic damages a car during repair efforts or uses defective parts.

Of the accidents related to defective vehicles mentioned in the NHTSA study, the most common defects that caused the crashes include:

Defective tires and wheels, 35%
Defective brakes, 22%
Defective steering, transmission, or engine, 3%
Other type of defective part (or unknown), 40%.

Some of the other types of defective parts that can lead to a fatal or injury accident include:

Airbags failing to deploy in an accident
Faulty seat belts
Faulty electrical systems
Faulty heating and cooling systems
Seat failures
Roof collapses.

After studying crashes from 2020 to 2023, the Minnesota Dept. of Public Safety reported state-wide data for the cause of crashes, including:

1.7% of crashes involved defective brakes
0.4% of crashes involved defective steering
0.2% of crashes involved defective tires
0.1% of crashes involved defective suspension components.

Defective vehicle accidents can be challenging to prove and litigate. However, visiting with experienced Wisconsin or Minnesota car accident lawyers can help you better understand your legal options.

Compensation Available for Injury and Fatal Defective Vehicle Accidents

Defective vehicles can cost lives and potentially cause serious or life-altering injuries not only to the driver and occupants of the defective vehicle but other drivers, passengers, and pedestrians. If you got hurt in an accident as a result of a defective vehicle part or component, whether in your own car or another driver’s car, you could potentially recover various types of compensation, including:

Medical expenses and future medical costs
Loss of income and future loss of income
Pain and suffering award.

Defective Vehicle Wrongful Death Claim

Although both Minnesota and Wisconsin have many laws that try to reduce or prevent serious car accidents, unfortunately, fatal accidents continue to happen far too frequently. The Wisconsin Dept. of Transportation reported 512 fatal accidents in 2023 in Wisconsin, while the Minnesota Dept. of Public Safety reported 428 fatal accident in 2024 in Minnesota. That’s why it’s important to hold car manufacturers, parts manufacturers, and repair shops responsible when they make errors that lead to dangerous crashes.

The untimely death of a loved one can have devastating consequences for a family, not only causing heart-wrenching grief but potentially also resulting in a significant financial burden. If your loved one died because of a defective vehicle accident, you could potentially file a wrongful death lawsuit and recover compensation including:

Wages, income, and benefits the deceased would have earned
Loss of companionship
Funeral and burial costs
Pain and suffering of the decedent before death
Loss of guidance for children.

You might wonder whether filing a wrongful death claim is a good idea. You and your surviving family members may not want to relive the circumstances of the fatal accident as the claim process drags on. However, it’s important to remember that your loved one would want your family to continue to work toward the financial and life goals you had together. Letting our legal team win a financial claim for you can give you the money you need for buying a home or helping the kids pay for college.

How to Prove a Defective Vehicle Claim

Proving a defective vehicle claim can be legally complicated while involving several challenging steps, including:

Fully analyzing a vehicle’s defects and causes for a crash
Conducting an independent investigation
Talking with witnesses to the accident
Hiring expert witnesses, such as accident reconstruction and product manufacturing experts.

Our lawyers will thoroughly investigate the circumstances surrounding the accident that claimed your loved one. We may find that your vehicle was working fine, but the other driver’s vehicle suffered a malfunction that led to the crash. For example, if a FedEx truck hits your car, perhaps FedEx failed to maintain the truck properly, causing a brake failure that led to the crash. If this happens, we might be able to file a claim against FedEx for its negligence in vehicle maintenance.

Determining All the Negligent Parties

When it comes to recovering compensation for defective vehicle accidents, all at-fault parties should be identified. Our experienced Wisconsin and Minnesota defective product attorneys can help identify all liable parties in your claim, a sometimes tricky and time-consuming task. Car accidents can be complex, especially when they involve defective parts or improperly installed parts.

If your accident resulted in a fatality, the surviving family members may not have the time, energy, and legal knowledge required to research their claim comprehensively. You need the help of our Wisconsin or Minnesota wrongful death attorneys to determine who is liable and how much your case is worth. Let our experts handle all the legal aspects of your claim so you and the other surviving family members have the time needed to grieve and prepare to move forward with your lives.

Tyroler Leonard Injury Law Can Help With a Claim After a Fatal Accident With a Defective Vehicle

When motor vehicle accidents occur because of defective or faulty car parts, victims could be entitled to fair compensation for their injuries, expenses, losses, and suffering. Some of these accidents result in serious injuries, while others could result in a fatality.

Tyroler Leonard Injury Law commits to helping victims of defective vehicles protect their legal rights. We work tirelessly to try to maximize your financial claim related to the fatal or injury accident by holding all the potentially negligent parties responsible for the defective parts or shoddy workmanship. Call us for a free, no-obligation consultation today at (651) 259-1113.

Attorney Isaac Tyroler

Attorney Isaac Tyroler has been a strong advocate for injured people his entire legal career. He has a passion for righting wrongs, and he deeply cares about representing injured clients who may feel overwhelmed or uncertain about how to navigate the legal system. He is compassionate toward clients and aggressive with insurance companies and defendants. He is on the elected Board of Governors of the Minnesota Association of Justice (MAJ), the top personal injury lawyers’ group in Minnesota. And is currently the chair of MAJ’s legislative committee. [ Attorney Bio ]