California personal injury attorneys have filed a product liability wrongful death suit against Subaru of America. The suit alleges that the 2001 Subaru Forester — in particular, the vehicle’s restraint system — failed to properly protect Lisa Ann Thayer in a 2006 accident. Thayer was thrown from the vehicle and suffered horrific, ultimately life-ending injuries.
The suit was brought through Thayer’s daughter, Emma, and Emma’s father, Gregory Jones. Specifically, they allege that the vehicle had a number of deficiencies that ultimately contributed to Thayer’s death as well as injuries sustained by Emma who was also a passenger in the car. They focus on the restraint system for much of the argument but, in addition, stress that the vehicle had improper window structures, insufficient strength in a rollover accident, and insufficient structural integrity to resist a catastrophic roof impact. They further assert that Subaru and its parent companies knew about the defects and failed to either warn the public or correct the problem.
Ms. Thayer’s accident was in October 2006, about three-and-a-half years ago, and one unfortunate aspect of a case such as this is the sheer amount of time involved. Years often pass in the course of personal injury or class action cases. Investigations have to be pursued, motions filed and witnesses interviewed; paperwork gets shuffled, companies wall up behind lawyers, and victims struggle for years hoping for rulings.
With no easy answers and few quick results, it’s advisable that people make efforts to protect themselves by taking note of their rights and recording any safety concerns they have about products. Additionally, personal injury advocates exist to help people make sense of the chaos and headache that comes in the wake of a tragic event. Given the knowledge that such cases often drag on for years, strong representation is also a top priority.
