Lake Jackson product defect lawyers understand that manufacturers and the government announce product recalls frequently throughout the year. Owners of products affected by the recalls may believe that they’ll receive an immediate remedy to their defective product. But there are actually several situations where you might find your attempt to seek a remedy for a product defect to be delayed or denied.
For instance, for you to receive the free remedies that auto makes usually offer in he event an auto defect’s discovered, your vehicle can’t be more than 10 years old on the date the defect is officially determined. The age is calculated based on the date of sale to the first purchaser of the vehicle, rather than on the date it rolled off the assembly line.
The automaker can challenge the NHTSA’s finding of a safety defect. As long as the case is still in court, the manufacturer has no obligation to remedy the possible defects. Concerned vehicle owners might have the possible safety defect remedied at heir own expense while the challenge is still pending in court. These owners might be able to obtain reimbursement for the reasonable costs of the repair if the court rules against the automaker’s challenge and upholds the NHTSA’s decision. The vehicle owners would need to present their receipts and paperwork on the repair remedy in order to be eligible for reimbursement.
When the defect recall related to a tire, the tire can’t be more than 5 years old on the date of the defect determination. And owners only have 60 days from the date of receiving the recall notification letter to bring in their defective tires for replacement.
The law allows manufacturers a “reasonable” amount of time from the date the defect is determined to supply a remedy to the defect. Depending on the nature of the defect, the time delay between announcement of a recall and the date a remedy is available to you might be a few weeks, more than a month, or longer. The “reasonable” period of time lets manufacturers identify owners affected by the recall, send notification letters out to them, develop remedies for the defect, provide instructions to their dealers on how to remedy the defects, and obtain and distribute the parts necessary to remedy the problem. Legally, the automaker is not obliged to remedy your vehicle defect until the reasonable amount of time provided by the law has elapsed.
If a defective product injured you, other legal remedies might be available to you. You might be eligible for financial compensation from the manufacturer for the needless harm you’ve suffered. Contact our experienced Lake Jackson product defect lawyers for a free consultation. We could explain your legal options for financial recovery after your injury.