Americans love cars. According to government data, the U.S. had 110 million registered cars and motorcycles and 232 million licensed drivers in 2021. These vehicles and their owners create significant economic activity, from car sales to insurance premiums.
All this economic activity comes with legal issues. Drivers have disputes with auto manufacturers and sellers. They crash into motorists, pedestrians, and cyclists. They even get into disputes with their insurance companies. Auto lawyers represent car owners facing these legal problems.
What an Automobile Lawyer Does
The term “automobile attorney” is somewhat misleading since it crosses many legal practices. An auto attorney may deal with many of the following issues:
Defective Automobiles
All states have lemon laws for new vehicles. Some states even have lemon laws for used vehicles. A lemon law protects car buyers and lessors who end up with a vehicle that has chronic problems.
A typical law gives the manufacturer or dealer a limited number of opportunities to repair the vehicle before allowing the owner to request that they replace or repurchase the vehicle.
Vehicle owners also have warranty rights. Manufacturers and dealers will often refuse to cooperate with lemon law and warranty claims until the owner retains a lawyer to represent them.
Product Liability
Product liability also deals with defective vehicles. But instead of seeking help with chronic breakdowns, the vehicle owner requires injury compensation after the defective vehicle harmed them. Some common defective products that result in injuries include:
- Airbag inflators
- Brakes
- Tires
- Driverless control systems
Manufacturers often fight hard against these cases because they face such enormous liability. Millions of products could contain the same defect, resulting in hundreds or even thousands of claims against the manufacturer in the form of individual and class action lawsuits. A product liability lawyer helps injured consumers stand up to billion-dollar auto manufacturers.
Motor Vehicle Accidents
The U.S. had over 6.1 million auto accidents in 2021. These crashes caused almost 2.5 million injuries and 43,000 deaths. These crashes cost the U.S. economy billions of dollars in medical care and lost productivity. Injured motorists, pedestrians, and bicyclists also incurred bills and lost paychecks due to their physical and mental trauma.
Auto accident lawyers pursue injury claims against insurers and at-fault drivers. Most states require vehicle owners to carry bodily injury liability insurance. After a crash, accident victims file claims with the liability insurer seeking compensation for their economic and non-economic losses, including:
- Past and future medical bills
- Lost wages
- Diminished future earnings due to long-term disabilities
- Out-of-pocket expenses for injury-related costs like ambulance charges
- Pain and suffering
An auto accident lawyer analyzes crashes to determine the strength and value of injury claims. If you have a case worth pursuing, the lawyer prepares insurance claims for injury compensation, negotiates settlements, and files lawsuits when insurers refuse to settle.
Bad Faith Insurance
Insurance companies have a legal duty to review claims promptly and in good faith. If the claimant proves liability, the insurer should offer a fair settlement rather than unreasonably delaying or denying claims.
At the same time, insurers have a financial incentive to pay as little as possible for claims. Lower loss ratios — the money paid for claims compared to the premiums collected — mean higher profits for the insurer.
Sometimes, insurers cross the line, placing their financial interests ahead of their legal duties. You should not assume that only smaller insurance companies engage in these practices. Claimants have accused some of the largest insurance companies in the U.S. of bad faith practices.
Bad-faith insurance lawyers use procedures in the state’s insurance code, including complaints to the insurance commission and even lawsuits, to pursue remedies for claimants.
