When companies fail to provide functional and safe products they put the consumer at risk and ruin their trust.
This is what happened with Fiat Chrysler and the defective fuel pump in their Dodge trucks. Issues with the 2018-2020 Dodge RAM models have caused over 600,000 owners and lessors to file a class action suit against the company.
The law firm Hagens Berman is representing the plaintiffs. In their suit, they accuse Fiat Chrysler of intentionally concealing the defect in the fuel pump that poses a safety risk to drivers and passengers.
To find out that you’ve spent tens of thousands of dollars on a vehicle that is essentially a “ticking time bomb”, according to attorney Steve Berman, is heartbreaking. These consumers feel understandably betrayed.
By working with a product liability lawyer, consumers have taken the correct steps to get compensation for the company’s production of unsafe vehicles.
Why are consumers suing Fiat Chrysler?
This lawsuit focuses on 2018-2020 Dodge RAM Heavy Duty Cummins-equipped diesel trucks that use a CP4 fuel injection pump. It is this pump that is the source of the safety risk.
Consumers have found that the vehicles are shutting off while in motion. This poses a dramatic risk to the health and safety of vehicle occupants and other drivers. For example, if a vehicle suddenly stops in the middle of a highway, it can cause a multi-car collision.
Consumers attest that they would not have purchased the vehicles if they had known about this critical failure in the car’s function. Thus, they are filing a claim for damages.
These damages may compensate both individuals who experienced the engine shut off and those who did not, but own a vehicle with the same defective pump.
Design Defect in Dodge Truck Fuel Pumps
Vehicles require a pump to lubricate the rods and cylinders in an engine. If they are not lubricated properly, then they can rub against each other and degrade the engine. This can cause metal shards to disrupt the engine and just off the vehicle. It can also cause the rods and cylinders to break.
In the affected Dodge RAM trucks, the CP4 pump was meant to lubricate the diesel engines, as diesel is not a lubricated fuel in the United States.
The Fiat Chrysler lawsuit claims that the company knew that the CP4 would not properly lubricate the engine system with American diesel, but continued to use this model in their vehicles anyway.
The friction on the metal in the engine began releasing metal shards into the fuel injection system. The metal moved throughout the engine with the fuel, beginning to deteriorate the entire engine. This led to the unexpected shutoffs and the inability to start the vehicle in these scenarios.
Defective Product Liability
Product liability is an area of law that protects consumers from companies that cut corners and produce unsafe products.
A product is deemed “defective” if it is produced using unsafe materials or when it causes injury when used as intended. Some examples of defective products include children’s clothing made of flammable materials, cars that are prone to rollover accidents, and improperly labeled toys.
There are three main types of product defects:
- Design Defects, where the defect is inherent in the designs of the product.
- Manufacturing Defects, where a defect occurs during the manufacturing process.
- Marketing Defects, where the item is not properly labeled or lacks safety warnings.
When defective products injure consumers, they can rock their faith in the market. They may be wary to purchase items in the future, which can hinder the economy. That’s why it’s so important for lawyers like Lytal, Reiter, Smith, Ivey & Fronrath to support consumers in their product liability cases.
We work with you to teach companies that they can’t get away with producing defective products. We force them to take accountability for their actions and to put the consumer first.
What is a class-action lawsuit?
A class-action lawsuit is filed on behalf of more than one individual against a single defendant. In the case of the Fiat Chrysler lawsuit, over 600,000 consumers are filing against the car company.
Class-action lawsuits are meant to help multiple people get justice for a single defendant’s offenses when they were all harmed by the same action. This is because a defendant cannot be charged for the same crime multiple times. If it weren’t for class action suits, a defendant could avoid compensating some of the consumers they endangered.
These lawsuits also allow individuals to band together and create as much clout as a large company, so they can’t be bullied into accepting less than they deserve.
Contact a Product Liability Lawyer
If you have purchased a defective product, whether it is a Dodge RAM truck or a children’s toy, contact a product liability lawyer. The team at Lytal, Reiter, Smith, Ivey & Fronrath are here to assist you with getting justice for the negligence of a large company.
We believe that you deserve to shop safely and want to ensure no company feels like it can get away with consumer fraud.
Contact us today for a free consultation to see if you have a product liability case.
