Most car accident claims target a negligent driver. Product liability claims target something bigger: the company that built, designed, or sold a defective vehicle or part. Suing an automaker or parts manufacturer is a different discipline from an ordinary injury claim — different legal theories, different evidence, different opponents — and this article walks through how car crash lawyers actually run that litigation from wreck to resolution in California.
The Legal Theories: Strict Liability, Negligence, and Warranty
California allows an injured person to hold a manufacturer strictly liable for a defective product — no need to prove the company was careless, only that the vehicle or component was defective in design or manufacture (or carried inadequate warnings) and caused injury while being used as intended. Negligence and breach-of-warranty theories are typically pleaded alongside strict liability to widen the evidentiary net.
Critically, a product claim does not require a defect to have caused the crash itself. Many of the strongest cases are "crashworthiness" or enhanced-injury cases: another driver caused the collision on the I-10 near Santa Monica, but a defective component turned a survivable impact into a traumatic brain injury (TBI) or spinal cord injury. The manufacturer answers for the portion of harm its defect added.
How the Litigation Actually Unfolds
Step 1: Preserve the Vehicle
The wrecked car is the single most important piece of evidence, and insurers routinely want it salvaged within weeks. A car crash lawyer's first move is a preservation letter and, often, buying or storing the vehicle so defense experts and plaintiff experts can inspect the same physical evidence. Losing the vehicle can lose the case.
Step 2: Investigate the Defect
Counsel pairs the CHP 555 traffic collision report and scene evidence with engineering analysis: downloading the event data recorder, tearing down the suspect component, and searching National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) databases for recalls, technical service bulletins, and prior consumer complaints involving the same part. A pattern of similar failures is gold in front of a Los Angeles County jury.
Step 3: Plead and Survive the Early Motions
Product cases against automakers are usually filed in the Los Angeles County Superior Court — complex ones often land at the Stanley Mosk Courthouse — or removed to federal court by out-of-state manufacturers. Expect well-funded defense firms, aggressive early motions, and protective-order fights over internal engineering documents.
Step 4: Discovery and Experts
This is the long middle: interrogatories, document productions running to hundreds of thousands of pages, depositions of company engineers, and dueling experts in biomechanics, metallurgy, and human factors. Comparative fault fights persist here too — under Li v. Yellow Cab Co. of California (1975), fault can be apportioned among the manufacturer, other drivers, and even the plaintiff, so plaintiff's counsel must defend against blame-shifting on every front.
Step 5: Resolution
Most cases settle after expert disclosures, when both sides can price the risk. Damages span economic losses — medical care, lost earning capacity, future life care — and non-economic damages for pain and diminished quality of life. Where internal documents show the company knew about the defect, punitive damages under California Civil Code § 3294 become part of the negotiation.
When a Defect Case Hides Inside a DUI Crash
Product theories often surface in collisions that look, at first, like pure driver-fault cases. Take an impaired-driving crash: the drunk motorist is plainly liable — a violation of California Vehicle Code § 23152, or § 23153 where injury results, supports negligence per se under Evidence Code § 669 — yet the victim's catastrophic injuries may trace to a seatback that collapsed or an airbag that never fired. The two cases then run on parallel tracks: the driver defends the criminal charge, usually through a DUI defense firm in Los Angeles handling the court case and the 10-day DMV Administrative Per Se license hearing, while the victim's lawyer pursues both the driver's insurer and the manufacturer in civil court. Because the driver's minimum policy — even at the $30,000/$60,000 limits set by Senate Bill 1107 effective January 1, 2025 — cannot cover a catastrophic injury, the deep-pocketed manufacturer claim is often what makes the victim whole, supplemented by uninsured/underinsured motorist (UM/UIM) coverage.
Deadlines and Practical Realities
The two-year statute of limitations of Code of Civil Procedure § 335.1 governs product-based injury and wrongful death claims, and the clock generally runs from the crash. Given how long vehicle preservation, teardown, and expert work take, waiting a year to call a lawyer effectively shrinks the case. Product litigation is also expensive — expert-heavy from day one — which is why victims should retain car crash lawyers who have actually tried defect cases and can fund them on contingency. The right firm brings existing relationships with automotive engineers, familiarity with the defendant manufacturer's litigation history, and the patience to push through years of discovery rather than accept an early discounted settlement.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I sue a manufacturer even if another driver caused the crash?
Yes. Under California crashworthiness doctrine, a manufacturer whose defective component worsened your injuries is liable for that enhanced harm, regardless of who triggered the collision.
How long does a product liability car accident case take in Los Angeles?
Longer than a standard claim — typically eighteen months to several years, driven by expert discovery in the Los Angeles County Superior Court. The filing deadline, however, remains two years under Code of Civil Procedure § 335.1.
What evidence matters most in a defect claim?
The vehicle itself, the event data recorder, the CHP 555 collision report, and NHTSA recall and complaint records for the suspect component. Preserve the car before the insurer disposes of it.