Can I sue a dealership for the death of my wife in a car accident? 27 Answers as of February 20, 2012

I am truly sorry for your loss. The dealership would not likely be the target. The manufacturer may be under the right set of facts.

You likely cannot sue the dealership for this type of loss. The manufacturer might be a legitimate target for the failure of the airbag to deploy, but the big problem you would have in Indiana is the comparative fault of your wife in failing to yield the right-of-way.

I am sorry to hear about your loss. You have a valid claim, and you should contact an attorney to pursue it.

Usually, it is required to show that the failure of the air bag deploying contributed to your wife's injuries before you could be successful in a claim. It is important to preserve the vehicle. You should consult with a personal injury attorney as soon as possible to protect your rights and give you specific advice.

If the collision was wholly or partly the fault of your late wife in NC that would be called contributory negligence and there could be no recovery.

I do not believe the liability would lie with the dealership unless they sold you a certified used car. In a new car the liability would be with the manufacturer of the vehicle. However even if you could establish a defect with the car, there would still be a problem with the case because of the comparative negligence for any liability your wife would have been responsible for. Please discuss this case with your local bar association.

I am sorry to hear that you have lost your wife. It appears that your late wife was responsible for the accident. Given the impact that you describe, it is likely that your own insurance policy tendered its limits to the other driver, though you make no mention of the other drivers injuries. From your facts, the impact was on the opposite side of the vehicle. Airbags certainly save lives but they can also cause injury. Accordingly, airbags are designed to deploy only in situations where the likelihood of the harm which they will do is not greater than the likelihood of the harm which they will prevent. For this reason, airbags have sensors which cause them to deploy only when there is an impact to the side or end of the vehicle where an occupant is situated. If there had been an impact to the driver's door, the side impact airbags for that door would have been deployed. What you are alleging is not a malfunction but rather a design defect so you wouldn't be suing the dealer, you'd be suing the manufacturer. I don't believe you have a viable case. If you were considering filing a suit only to secure nuisance value, I would remind you that your health insurance and your auto insurance have subrogation rights. You could not collect a penny until you had repaid everything which your group health insurance and auto carrier has paid out on this claim. If you have a police Reconstructionist who is willing to testify that your wife would have survived the accident if the side-impact airbags had deployed, you should take a copy of that opinion to a personal injury attorney to discuss this matter in more depth, face-to-face. Good luck.

The vehicle's manufacturer and the maker of the side air bags may have the greatest liability to her heirs and estate.

You may be able to sue the manufacturer. You need to keep the car, do not let an insurance company or someone else dispose of it, because you will need to have it examined by and expert. You should consult a products liability attorney as soon as possible.

You should consult with a product liability or accident lawyer for specific legal advice and direction. Negligence has to be proved before liability can be assessed against the car dealerand/or the manufacturer of theairbagfor thefailure of the airbag to deploy during the accident.