When a person is injured as a result of a defective product, it's not uncommon for a manufacturer to deny liability as a way of getting out of paying compensation. Maneuvers such as this can be disgusting for anyone to have to endure, especially accident victims who simply want to hold a manufacturer responsible for selling a dangerous product and receive compensation for the injuries they received. But as our readers here in Dallas know, this isn't always as easy as people might think.
We can see just such a thing playing out in a Galveston courtroom where a Texas family is struggling to hold a car manufacturer liable for the death of their loved one who perished in a fatal car accident in March 2012. According to the family's wrongful death claim, the tragic loss of their loved one occurred when their 2005 Dodge Durango rolled over in a single-car crash as a result of an automotive defect in the car's left rear tire. But despite the fact that records show the tire “delaminated, causing the vehicle to roll,” the car's manufacturer, Chrysler Group LLC, says that it should not be held liable for the death and injuries suffered by the family.
According to Chrysler, the company’s predecessor DaimlerChrysler Corp. was responsible for the design, manufacturing, and safety testing for the vehicle. But because of a series of business mergers and acquisitions, DaimlerChrysler Corp. became a different company, begging the question: how is the family in this case supposed to seek damages from a company that technically no longer exists?
It’s because of business transactions like this that can really complicate a product's liability case such as the one above. But even worse still is the fact that there were thousands of 2005 Dodge Durangos sold across Texas, as well as the rest of the nation, leaving many to wonder if future personal injury cases could be just around the corner.
