Product Defect Case? Help me please.

[Vador_2003]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? OHIO

Earlier today me and a friend of mine were changing the brakes on my car, and i had it jacked up using the jack provided with the car, i had just got the tire off and the jack buckled causing the rotor and the brake caliper to fall and crush my foot. It was wedged in there for a good 10 mins before we could get it off (it hurt more than anything ive ever felt). After about 10 mins of me screaming in pain we tried to put the car in neutral and roll it off (also hurt like a lot). That worked and i finally called an ambulance to take me to the ER. My foot isn't broken, but its severely swollen and bruised up bad meaning ill have to miss work an lose a lot of pay, at least $500 or $600, while sitting at home for a few weeks (2 or 3) for it to heal. I'm seriously considering calling one of the personal injury lawyers you see on TV and suing Dodge for the jack not working properly and buckling on me. What do you guys think?

 

[Roo]

I think you were negligent. And damn lucky.
The jack isn't designed to support the car while you work on it. That's what jackstands are for.

 

[racer72]

I think you are a damn fool. No lawyer is going to touch a case like yours with a 10 foot pole. Anyone that works on a car using the jack that is supplied for emergency use only doesn't have a snowball's chance in hell of winning a case. Common sense says that anyone working under a car uses safety jack stands to support the car. The only thing a lawsuit would prove is you don't have any. Go ahead and call the lawyers from TV, it will give them something to talk about at their next ****tail party.

 

[tranquility]

I agree with the other posters. The only things I know about cars is that gas goes in one end and oil in the other. And, body parts don't belong beneath the car when it's up on a jack. Look in the owner's manual. They will have a specific, highlighted warning of just this type of thing.

Don't waste your time calling.

 

[Vador_2003]

The jack provided with the car is to be used to change tires etc. The car doesnt come with jack stands so how in the hell am i supposed to use some? nowhere does it say that you HAVE to go buy jack stands before you can use the safety jack provided with the car.

 

[Vador_2003]

I think you were negligent. And damn lucky.
The jack isn't designed to support the car while you work on it. That's what jackstands are for.

Thats exactly what the jack is for, the car doesnt come with jackstands. They provide you with what you need to work on the car to the extent of changing tires etc.

 

[Roo]

No, the jack is for emergency tire changes.
Your owner's manual will have more information.

 

[You Are Guilty]

The jack provided with the car is to be used to change tires etc. The car doesnt come with jack stands so how in the hell am i supposed to use some? nowhere does it say that you HAVE to go buy jack stands before you can use the safety jack provided with the car.

Darwin called. He said he's sorry he missed you, but expects to be seeing you again very soon.

 

[Roo]

YAG: "Darwin called. He said he's sorry he missed you, but expects to be seeing you again very soon."

Good call!
OP doesn't know about jackstands but is fixing the brakes.

 

[Vador_2003]

I do know about jackstands im not an idiot, but explain why i NEED them when the jack is supposed to be sufficent enough to hold the weight of the car? Even for an "emergency" tire change?

 

[Zigner]

No, the jack is for emergency tire changes.
Your owner's manual will have more information.

Every tire-change jack I've seen actually has the warning printed right on it...

 

[Zigner]

I do know about jackstands im not an idiot, but explain why i NEED them when the jack is supposed to be sufficent enough to hold the weight of the car? Even for an "emergency" tire change?

Because the jack can slip...
When you change a tire, you don't put yourself UNDER the car.
I seem to remember my daddy teaching me that when I was, oh, 6 years old...

ETA: And he taught me that in the 70's when tire change jacks were pretty darned substantial, compared to the ones today.

 

[proud_parent]

The car doesnt come with jack stands so how in the hell am i supposed to use some?

Vehicles don't come with an unlimited supply of gasoline, either. Yet you figured out what to do about that, right?

It doesn't take an automotive engineer to realize that if you intend to do your own maintenance, you may need to purchase additional equipment not provided with the vehicle.

 

[cyjeff]

The jack provided with the car is to be used to change tires etc. The car doesnt come with jack stands so how in the hell am i supposed to use some? nowhere does it say that you HAVE to go buy jack stands before you can use the safety jack provided with the car.

Please refer to the "changing the brake pads" section of your service manual.

What? You say there isn't one?

Okay, refer to the part about changing a tire. There it is. And it mentions the tools included to do it.

Auto makers do not include every tool necessary to complete every repair. You didn't receive a set of jack stands... you also did not receive a set of wrenches, a paint sprayer or a voltmeter.

It is understood that if you wish to do more intensive repairs that you bring your own tools to the party.

They would no more be responsible for not providing jack stands than if you had decided to use a rock to dislodge the brake pads because they didn't include a screwdriver.

 

[racer72]

The jack provided with the car is to be used to change tires etc. The car doesnt come with jack stands so how in the hell am i supposed to use some? nowhere does it say that you HAVE to go buy jack stands before you can use the safety jack provided with the car.

You obviously are lacking in something I mentioned in my other post.

I think you are a damn fool. No lawyer is going to touch a case like yours with a 10 foot pole. Anyone that works on a car using the jack that is supplied for emergency use only doesn't have a snowball's chance in hell of winning a case. Common sense says that anyone working under a car uses safety jack stands to support the car. The only thing a lawsuit would prove is you don't have any. Go ahead and call the lawyers from TV, it will give them something to talk about at their next ****tail party.