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Attorneys General from more than a dozen states, including New York, asked the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to recall Kias and Hyundais that are easy targets for vehicle thieves.
The coalition of attorneys general urged the companies to take stronger steps to address the safety concerns caused by vehicles’ vulnerability to theft. Because the companies have failed to address safety issues, they are now calling on the NHTSA to step in. The attorneys general argue that the vehicles’ systems remain out of compliance with federal standards and pose an unreasonable risk to public safety.
From approximately 2010 to 2021, Hyundai and Kia failed to equip base vehicle models with engine immobilizers, which prevent the vehicle from operating without a key or key fob. In 2022 Hyundai and Kia thefts accounted for 10 percent of all registered Kia vehicles and 7 percent of all registered Hyundai vehicles.
Auto Thieves in Criminal and Civil Court
Criminal courts punish car thieves, and other malefactors, when they break the law. When judges sentence these offenders to prison or an extended period of intense court supervision, victims often feel that justice has been done, at least to an extent.
Car thieves often have accomplices. Sometimes, these accomplices are indirectly involved. They are the property owners who didn’t provide adequate security and thus unreasonably exposed the plaintiff, or an immediate family member, to physical harm.
That’s the textbook definition of negligent infliction of emotional distress (NIED) in New York and many other states. It’s hard to fathom the emotional distress that the sudden loss of a family car causes. Additionally, NEID is a unique negligence claim that usually doesn’t require physical injury.
Liability for NIED usually attaches if a lawyer proves that the defendant, which in this case is a property owner, owed the victim a legal duty, and the defendant knew about, or should have known about, the injury-causing hazard.
Most commercial and social visitors are invitees in New York. Since the victim has specific permission to be on the property, and since the owner benefits in some way, the owner has a duty of reasonable care. This duty includes a responsibility to provide adequate security.
Inadequate security often means an inadequate level of security. Parking garages often don’t need much security. Surface parking lots are a different story. Open-access parking lots normally require deterrent security (armed guards), especially if they’re in a high crime area.
Direct evidence of actual knowledge includes “smoking guns” like security surveys. Circumstantial evidence of constructive knowledge (should have known) usually includes prior car thefts at that location or in the vicinity.
Damages in an NIED claim usually include compensation for economic losses, such as medical bills, and noneconomic losses, such as pain and suffering.
Defective Products
If the victim sustained a physical injury during a car theft, perhaps a fall while running after the perpetrator, a defective product claim may be available as well. Manufacturers are strictly liable for the injuries their defective products cause.
Automotive defects often involve design defects. The 1970s Ford Pinto is a good example. To make the car lighter and cheaper, designers placed an unprotected fuel tank behind the rear axle. So, the gas tank often exploded in rear-end collisions, killing or catastrophically injuring everyone involved. Yet Ford refused to fix the gas tanks. Company executives calculated that a recall would cost $121 million, and paying lawsuit settlements would cost $50 million. In short they did the math, and put profits before people.
Manufacturing defects, usually cheap parts, are common as well. Automakers often import parts like ignition switches. These parts are often substandard. Plus, there’s no guarantee that the part will work correctly in the car.
Additional punitive damages are usually available in defective products claims, on top of the compensatory damages mentioned above. Courts award these damages if there is clear and convincing evidence that the defendant intentionally disregarded a known risk.
Resolving Injury Claims
Defective product and negligence claims are a lot different, but they have at least one thing in common. These injury claims, like most other civil claims, almost always settle out of court.
Informal settlement negotiations often begin shortly after a New York personal injury attorney files legal paperwork. That’s the reason most lawyers file cases in the first place, to pressure the defendant into settlement.
Sometimes, defendants are anxious to settle cases and keep them out of the headlines. So, they fold faster than Superman on laundry day. However, most defendants don’t give in nearly that easily.
A court-appointed mediator usually gets involved in these situations. These professionals know how to help parties find common ground. Perhaps more importantly, they ensure that both sides negotiate in good faith. “I’ll see you in court” is not a good faith negotiating position. Because of a mediator’s skill and the good-faith negotiation duty, mediation is about 90 percent successful in personal injury cases.
Injury victims are entitled to substantial compensation. For a free consultation with an experienced attorney, contact Napoli Shkolnik. We handle these cases on a nationwide basis.