Accidents Sustained From a Faulty Rental Car

                    When you rent a car you are entering into an agreement with the rental company that you will use the vehicle for a certain period of time, and that you will follow traffic laws and do your best to return the car in the condition that you rented it. In return, the rental company has a responsibility to ensure that the vehicle that you rent from them is safe and hazard free, with proper maintenance done regularly on the car. However, because of money or time constraints rental companies sometimes do not follow through with their end of the bargain and a faulty part or component causes the driver to get into an accident. The responsibility lies with the rental company to provide you with a vehicle that is safe and road-worthy. They are responsible for having someone that is skilled enough to determine whether or not the car is safe and working properly look at the car, and if the car is faulty, they should provide you with a different vehicle. Sometimes, however, rental companies skip this step and knowingly or unknowingly rent out cars that are damaged and in need of repair. When this happens, the customer is at risk for breaking down or having an accident while driving the rental. 2009 saw the car manufacturer Toyota recall millions of automobiles, many of which are rental cars. This recall included the Toyota Corolla both 2009 and 2010 models, the 2005-2010 Avalons, the Toyota Camry models from 2007-2010 the Toyota Tundra, models 2007-2010, and the Sequoia from 2008-2010, as well as the Toyota Highland, Matrix and RAV4, models in the past few years. In this case, if you rented a Toyota that was faulty and you were involved in an accident, you may have a case against the car manufacturer themselves rather than the rental company. If you are driving your own car, then you know that you need to have regular maintenance done on the car, and have a qualified mechanic look at it, if the car is behaving oddly. You can tell the warning signs when your car might be unsafe or cause you to have an accident, and the rental company has the same responsibility, but often, especially during busy times like holidays, rental companies simply do a visual inspection, or do a very limited inspection of the vehicle, even if it is reported to them that the car was not driving properly. This is where a car accident attorney like Emery Ledger can help, with the knowledge of more than ten years of car accident litigation with cases just like yours. If you have been in a car accident as a result of a rental car that was in need of repair of was faulty then you should be compensated for your injuries and you certainly should not be held responsible for any repairs. The rental company has the responsibility to maintain their vehicles so that they are safe to drive and when they fail in that regard and you suffer because of it, you deserve to be paid.