Generally speaking, consumers should report unsafe automobiles, tires (and all automobile parts), trucks, motorcycles, and child restraint systems to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). In addition, sometimes these reports are and can be made by an injured consumers legal counsel, i.e. their attorney or lawyer that is investigating the merits of a product liability lawsuit on behalf of the injured or killed individual.
Steps to Filing a Report with the NHTSA
The NHTSA has made reporting dangerous or hazardous vehicular products very simple. You can use the online forms at the NHTSA website to report an injury or death and to file a complaint about an unsafe automobile, tire, automobile part, truck, motorcycle, and/or child restraint system, aka. car seat, child car seat, infant car seat or booster seat.
Link to NHTSA Form: http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/ivoq/
In addition, you may also report vehicular related defects by phone (888) 327-4236 or letter (Office of Defects Investigations/CRD, NVS-216, 1200 New Jersey Ave SE, Washington, DC 20590).
What to Expect After Filing a Report with NHTSA
Your complaint information will be entered into NHTSA’s vehicle owner’s complaint database and used with other complaints to determine if a safety-related defect trend exists.
- If a safety-related defect exists in a motor vehicle or item of motor vehicle equipment, the manufacturer must fix it at no cost to the owner. Your complaint is the first step in the process.
- Government engineers analyze the problem. If warranted, the manufacturer is asked to conduct a recall. If the manufacturer does not initiate a recall, the government can order the manufacturer to initiate a recall.
- The NHTSA does not have to receive a specific number of complaints before they look into a problem. They simply gather all available information on a problem.
- While you may or may not be contacted by a NHTSA investigator to clarify the information submitted, all reports are reviewed and analyzed for potential defects trends.
Free Confidential Case Evaluation
The NHTSA receives a large number of reports of dangerous, hazardous and/or defective vehicular related products every year. It is unfortunate but the NHTSA is underfunded and cannot investigate every single consumer complaint that is submitted to them. It is also unfortunate that if a consumer discovers a product design defect that may have injured or killed a friend or loved one, their report may go unnoticed and without action. This is where a products liability law firm such as ours can help.
At Schmidt & Clark our sole focus is on helping individuals and families. We have built a reputation for success, and represent our clients in group and individual cases nationwide including product liability, mass torts, personal injury, environmental litigation, toxic exposure, transportation disasters, automotive crashworthiness, medical device failures and medical malpractice.
Although Schmidt & Clark is national in scope, we level the playing field for our clients by providing them with access to a level of professional legal representation previously available only to large corporations, while still providing personal attention to each client.
If you or a loved one have been injured or killed by a defective vehicular related product, we urge you to contact us immediately. You may be entitled to legal compensation for your injuries and we can help. In addition, by investigating the merits of your potential product liability lawsuit, we (you and our firm) may be able to prevent similar injuries and/or deaths from occurring to others.
For a free confidential case evaluation, please feel free to contact us by using the form below or by calling toll free 24 hrs/day by dialing (866) 588-0600.
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