Faulty brakes

[cfletch]

What is the name of your state? Arkansas
My teenage son was involved in an accident where he rearended a car. 3 weeks prior he had a full brake job done by a certified garage. When the accident occured he tried to stop but couldn't feel any braking action. He had to use the emergency brake to stop. We took the vehicle to another authorized garage and they confirmed that a there was a faulty brake caliper leak causing the brakes to fail. I had all of this documented and pictures taken. I had it taken to the original place that did the repairs and they stated that they received a faulty part from the vender and they are waiting to get more info from them. There is a 90 day warranty on this repair. Meanwhile despite all the documentation, my insurance company ruled that my son was at fault for the accident. What is my recourse?

 

[BelizeBreeze]

What is the name of your state? Arkansas
My teenage son was involved in an accident where he rearended a car. 3 weeks prior he had a full brake job done by a certified garage. When the accident occured he tried to stop but couldn't feel any braking action. He had to use the emergency brake to stop. We took the vehicle to another authorized garage and they confirmed that a there was a faulty brake caliper leak causing the brakes to fail. I had all of this documented and pictures taken. I had it taken to the original place that did the repairs and they stated that they received a faulty part from the vender and they are waiting to get more info from them. There is a 90 day warranty on this repair. Meanwhile despite all the documentation, my insurance company ruled that my son was at fault for the accident. What is my recourse?

wait until you get documentation that the caliper was, in fact, faulty.

 

[cfletch]

wait until you get documentation that the caliper was, in fact, faulty.

I have said documentation and pictures.

 

[BelizeBreeze]

I have said documentation and pictures.

You said you were waiting for the first repair station to get more information from the manufacturer. That is what I'm talking about.

The one thing you have to realize is that if your son had been following the legal distance behind the vehicle he would have been able to either stop, or slow enough to avoid an accident and that is most likely why the insurance was assessing falut to him.

 

[cfletch]

Is there any liability for the repair shop or the manufacturer of the faulty part besides just the insurance issue?

 

[BelizeBreeze]

Is there any liability for the repair shop or the manufacturer of the faulty part besides just the insurance issue?

You would have to show the shop KNEW or had an opportunity to KNOW they installed faultly parts.

Probably not very easy.

The easier thing would be to prove the part was faulty but installed correctly. Then you may have a chance for a settlement with the manufacturer. however, that will NOT absolve your son from the accident or from the insurance claim.

 

[moburkes]

Accidents are always someone's fault. It wasn't the fault of the person that he hit, which means that it was his fault.

 

[teflon_jones]

How bad was the leak? What exactly failed? How many miles were driven in the 3 weeks between the accident and brake job?

The reason I ask is the brake job was done 3 weeks prior to the accident. Based on your description of what happened, there was a catasrophic failure of the braking system.

 

[cfletch]

How bad was the leak? What exactly failed? How many miles were driven in the 3 weeks between the accident and brake job?

The reason I ask is the brake job was done 3 weeks prior to the accident. Based on your description of what happened, there was a catasrophic failure of the braking system.

I don't know how much it leaked prior to the wreck. My son drove it about 15 miles per day for those three weeks. After the accident is when I investigated and found the brake leaking badly.