W.L. Brown purchased a new large Chevrolet truck from Days Chevrolet. The truck
ID: 2713770 • Letter: W
Question
W.L. Brown purchased a new large Chevrolet truck from Days Chevrolet. The truck had been manufactured by General Motors Corporation. One month later, an employee of Brown’s was operating the truck when it ceased to function in rush-hour traffic on Interstate Highway 75 in the Atlanta suburbs. A defect within the alternator had caused a complete failure of the truck’s electrical system. The defect was caused by General Motor’s negligence in manufacturing the truck. When the alternator failed to operate, the truck came to rest in the right-hand lane of two north-bound lanes of freeway traffic. Because of the electrical failure, no blinking lights could be used to warn traffic of the danger. The driver, however, tried to motion traffic around the truck. Some time later, when the freeway traffic had returned to normal, the large Chevrolet truck was still motionless on the freeway. At approximately 6:00 p.m., a panel truck approached the stalled truck in the right-hand lane of traffic at freeway speed. Immediately behind the panel truck, Mr. Davis is driving a Volkswagen fastback, was unable to see the stalled truck. At the last moment, the driver of the panel truck saw the stalled truck and swerved into another lane to avoid it. Mr. Davis drove his Volkswagen into the stalled truck at freeway speed, causing his death. Mr. Davis’s wife brought a wrongful death action based on negligence against General Motors. Is there causation linking the negligence of the defendant to the fatal accident? Fully explain your answer.
Explanation / Answer
The most obvious target of such cases is the truck manufacturer. Since the truck manufacturer wrongly installed a component which to the inadequacy in the entire system, there is a case for a claim against the manufacturer. Hence Mrs. Daivd is right is pursuing a case of negligence against the manufacturer, General motors. Truck or Auto Makers, like any other manufacturer is obliged to provide a product that is reasonably fit for its intended purpose. In this case, they are required to manufacture the truck properly so that is safe to drive and does not cause death or hindrance to other road users.
A number of cases have been filed regarding these very defects in recent years, and many have even been reported on in the news. This information can be not only informative as to what you should do in the event of a similar accident, but also may be a warning about a potentially defective condition in your automobile that you may want to have an expert remedy before an accident occurs.
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