About 65 Jeep Grand Cherokee and Dodge Durango vehicles are being recalled due to a faulty suspension component. In a rare move, Fiat Chrysler has told the owners of affected 2015 models to stop driving these cars immediately. The urgency of the recall is unusual, spurring the company to specifically call each of the car owners in order to warn of the potentially faulty part. Owners of affected vehicles will have vehicles inspected at their homes.

The recall centers around a suspension component that has the capacity to fail and subsequently cause rear-end instability and a possible reduction in braking power. This recall comes in the wake of other litigation for Fiat Chrysler. The company is scheduled for a hearing with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on July 2nd to determine if Fiat Chrysler failed to address safety defects in 10 million vehicles in an appropriate amount of time.

Several thousand other Jeep Grand Cherokees and Dodge Durangos need to be inspected for the malfunction. These cars, however, are on dealer lots and not in the possession of the public. There are currently no reports of injuries or accidents associated with the recalled vehicles.

A Scripps Media post said talent manager Jessica Marie Steinforff filed a lawsuit against Caitlyn, formerly Bruce, Jenner on June 8 in the Los Angeles Superior Court in California, television news network CNN confirmed.

In Steinforff’s lawsuit, she alleged that Jenner “negligently, carelessly, recklessly, and wantonly,” drove a Cadillac Escalade SUV, which led to the multi-vehicle crash in Malibu back in February that killed 69-year-old Calabasas resident Kim Howe.

According to an earlier report by CNN, Steinforff’s Prius was stopped along the highway when it was hit on the rear by a white Lexus driven by Howe, whose vehicle was then rear-ended by Jenner’s vehicle, which was towing a trailer with an all-terrain vehicle on it.

If you have been hurt in a car accident through no fault of your own, the legal team at Pohl & Berk, LLP, may help you hold the responsible person or party fully accountable in court. Call our offices in Tennessee at 615-277-2765 today to begin taking action.

On Monday, the Honda Motor Company announced a recall of all 2001 to 2005 Civic sedans and 2003 to 2007 Accord sedans, amounting to 1.39 million vehicles. This latest recall addresses faulty front passenger-side airbags produced by the Takata Corporation of Japan, but Honda has already recalled their Civic and Accord sedans for front driver-side airbags. As a result of the previous recalls, this newest announcement does not affect the total number of Honda vehicles recalled, which remains at 6.3 million.

Previously, a regional recall was issued for front passenger-side airbags in these vehicles that were driven in high-humidity states. In their Monday announcement, Honda officials widen the recall to include all of these sedans in the United States.

It has been reported and observed that some Takata airbags open with excessive force, which sends shrapnel out into the vehicle, injuring passengers. Takata officials, as well as United States safety officials, have named extended exposure to humidity as a major factor in the defective airbag deployment.

Six deaths in the United States have occurred in vehicles equipped with Takata airbags. A New York Times article reported that Honda had corrected the issue in 1.99 million vehicles as of last week by replacing inflators; however, the total number of faulty inflators was not available. Honda dealerships have been replacing 50,000 inflators per week, and representatives anticipate an increase in this rate as the recall notice reaches more and more Honda drivers.

The NHTSA acknowledges their part in the ten-year failure to recall GM vehicles equipped with a defective ignition switch in a recently issued report, according to the Washington Post on June 5.

The report stated that important facts were withheld by GM, including changes in engineering. Despite this, the NHTSA did not investigate thoroughly enough or understand the automaker’s air bag technology well enough to identify the issue. The issue, which reports stated would have taken 57 cents to replace in each vehicle, resulted in the deaths of over 100 people and the injuries of hundreds more.

Mark Rosekind, who became the administrator for the federal safety agency six months ago, issued another report simultaneously with the critique of the agency’s work—a report on how the NHTSA will move forward from this in a constructive way. According to Rosekind, new policies are already in the works, including one that would mandate all automakers to share safety investigations that are in progress.

To effectively change the agency, however, the NHTSA would need 380 workers meant to enforce defect issues; this would require about $89 million.

The U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx, who joined Rosekind in a conference call with reporters, summarized the news of the critique when he said, “Defective agencies, like defective people, need the capacity for self-reflection and to make room for self-improvement. And that is what NHTSA is doing today.”

The legal team at Pohl & Berk, LLP, holds automakers accountable when a defect has led to injury and expense. Call us at (615) 277-2765 today to begin taking action.

Ten car accident fatalities have occurred in the region that includes the Tennessee counties Wayne and Lawrence, as well as northwest Alabama, in May alone, the Times Daily reported on May 31. This is more accidents in May than have occurred in the past nine years.

According to Sergeant Chris Ticer of the Florence Police Department, who is the supervisor for the department’s traffic division, many of the accidents were caused by people texting or talking on their cellular phones while driving, despite their claims otherwise.

Our attorneys at Pohl & Berk, LLP, in Nashville represent those who have been injured in car accidents due to a reckless or distracted driver. If you or a loved one is in this situation, our skilled legal team may help you pursue financial compensation to cover your medical bills and other losses. Call our offices at 615-277-2765 today to learn more about your best options moving forward.