As the school year winds to a close, families around Massachusetts got a reminder of how fragile life can be. Fatal car accidents are always difficult, but when the victims are young, and not even out of high school, the questions and anguish begin to mount.
Four Stoughton High School students died in a car crash in East Bridgewater on Saturday, May 19th. Their car flipped during a rainstorm and careened into a tree killing three. The fourth died at the hospital. While officials are still investigating the accident, there is a chance that the ultimate fault will not be with the driver or the slick road conditions.
Some accidents may not be avoidable
If the investigation were to find that the reason for the accident was a mechanical failure then the families of these students may have a case against the manufacturers. A mechanical failure in this case could include:
- Faulty brakes not engaging in slick conditions
- Flawed tires blowing out during a difficult maneuver
- Improperly installed safety features that did not protect the passengers of the car during the accident
- Windshield wipers not working properly in the rainstorm
Any part of the vehicle that malfunctioned could have led to a catastrophic failure and this collision.
The pain for families impacted by sudden crashes like this cannot be understated. Loss of a child is devastating and it makes every family want to do something to make sure this does not happen again. For some families that can mean teaching better driving techniques, for others, it may be placing restrictions on who may drive their children.
Turning anguish into action
When families are hurting in the wake of a preventable accident, they may only be thinking of their grief and loss. Filing a lawsuit in this situation would not be about a payout. It would be about making a statement that product safety is more important than profits.
