Motor Vehicle Recalls | Preszler Law Toronto Injury Lawyer

In this informative segment, personal injury lawyer John Philip from Preszler Injury Lawyers discusses the implications of motor vehicle recalls, particularly in light of General Motors' recent $900 million settlement over faulty ignition switches linked to numerous fatalities. He emphasizes the differences in recall processes between Canada and the U.S., noting that Transport Canada cannot legally enforce recalls. Philip advises that if you receive a recall notice, it is crucial to address it promptly, especially if the defect poses a safety risk. He also explains the potential legal ramifications if someone is injured due to a defect after receiving a notice, highlighting the importance of pursuing claims against the manufacturer and possibly the dealership. For more personal injury inquiries, viewers are encouraged to reach out to Preszler Injury Lawyers.

Thank you, Liam. Motor vehicle recalls are certainly nothing new; in fact, they are more common than you can even imagine. Sometimes, a big recall isn't a big deal, but there are definitely cases where the problem can be deadly. Take, for instance, General Motors. The company has just agreed to pay $900 million to settle hundreds of lawsuits over faulty car ignition switches. The switches, which can slip out of the run position and cut off the engine, have been linked to more than 120 deaths.

So, what do you do if you receive a recall notice in the mail? Personal injury lawyer John Philip of Preszler Injury Lawyers is here to answer those questions. Good morning.

Good morning. We're not talking about Volkswagen in this particular situation because that has not been proven to cause injury to anyone, correct?

Yeah, I mean, the GM situation is much different than Volkswagen, and I think it's important to differentiate what's happening in the U.S. from Canada. The settlement that GM reached deals with class action lawsuits and federal violations in the United States, not Canada. So, there's a big difference in terms of how recalls are handled in Canada versus the U.S. It may surprise a lot of your viewers that Transport Canada actually doesn't have the authority to legally force a manufacturer to issue a recall. They can ask the manufacturer to notify consumers of the defect, but Transport Canada can't actually force a recall in circumstances where a defect may cause injury.

So, when we hear of recalls happening, it's because the manufacturer themselves have discovered the defect and decided to make that recall. If people are hurt, it's very Canadian of us; it's a voluntary recall system in Canada for auto manufacturers. You know, it may also surprise your viewers to know that even if you receive one of these notifications of defect in the mail, when you go to the dealership, legally, that dealership and the manufacturer are not required to pay for that repair. However, what happens most of the time, just for consumer relations, is that they will pay for it.

Okay, so what happens if you do get a recall notice in the mail? What should you do?

Well, this may sound really trite, but deal with it. Most people, I think, receive one of these notifications in the mail, and it will sit on the shelf for three to four months before they say, "Oh geez, I never dealt with that." It is very important to address these situations, especially if the defect involves something critical, like an airbag defect or, in the case of GM, the ignition switch situation where the vehicle could just suddenly shut off. This puts you and your family in a significant risk situation, and you really should deal with it quickly. If, heaven forbid, you get the notice, you don't do anything about it, and then you have a problem, I would suspect that if that happened and someone comes to you and says, "You know, I crashed my car, and people were hurt," if you've had a notice already, you're probably not going to go very far.

Well, you know, we've talked about this for any lawsuit; it depends on the particular circumstances. If you've received a defect notice and that defect ultimately causes you injury in a motor vehicle accident, that's going to factor into what we call contributory negligence. So, you had notice of this defect, yet you did nothing about it. It may not necessarily completely bar you from pursuing a lawsuit, but it will definitely factor into it as a consideration.

That's unbelievable. So, if you are injured in a motor vehicle accident because of a parts defect, you contact the manufacturer?

Well, you would pursue a number of parties. I think you'd have to pursue legally the manufacturer, and you might also pursue the dealership that sold you the vehicle. It gets a little trickier when it's a used vehicle because if it's a used vehicle and you never received a notice of defect, you could potentially go after the previous owner of that vehicle. You could also go after the garage that safety-checked the vehicle for you when you purchased it used because, arguably, they should be checking for notifications of defects for that particular vehicle.

All right, very good. John Philip from Preszler Injury Lawyers, thank you.

Thank you. If you have any personal injury questions for John and his team at Preszler Injury Lawyers, visit our Facebook page at facebook.com/morningshowTO. Here's a look at traffic now. Hi, Kim.