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The NHTSA has been investigating the lithium-ion batteries in plug-in cars after a June incident in which a battery caught fire after a simulated crash test. A similar fire happened last week, prompting the regulators to open an official product defect investigation.

The NHTSA pointed out that it is not aware of any roadway crashes that have resulted in battery fires in the Chevy Volt. However, the defect investigation should alert all motorists, and particularly Chevy Volt owners, to the often-overlooked possibility of auto defects and the role they can play in auto accidents. The role defects play in auto accidents is often not noticed in initial police investigations, and this is why anyone who has been in a car accident should have a thorough, professional investigation of the accident and its causes. 

Baker got a hold of a flashlight and struck the victim in the arm. Police had originally charged Baker with misdemeanor charges of elder abuse and making criminal threats. Baker was facing up to two years in jail had he been convicted of those charges. Baker was also given a three-year probation sentence in connection with this incident.

This incident demonstrates how even the simplest arguments can escalate to very serious verbal or physical altercations leading to possible injuries for any parties involved. Any verbal argument can easily turn violent and one or more parties involved could wind up suffering extremely serious injuries as a result. In this incident, there was no report on the severity of the injuries Baker’s mother suffered, if any. However, that does not account for the emotional damage that the woman suffered as a result of this attack. In any case, the emotional injuries that a person suffers are just as bad as the physical injuries that they may suffer in any elder abuse or neglect case.
 

The report states that in 11 of those cases, the batteries had caused minor bodily harm to users and 31 of those cases caused minor property damage. The faulty batteries had been sold by HP and other electronic retailers between August 2007 and July 2008. The report states consumers will get a replacement battery free of charge.

According to the report, battery recalls are a common occurrence, especially for HP as they had issued recalls between 2005 and 2008. This news report demonstrates that product recalls are not only affecting automakers at a drastic rate but other industries as well. Faulty products are a common occurrence for all industries and the subsequent costs that the companies incur as a result of the recalls could be well over hundreds of millions of dollars over time. However, it is important for companies to make these recalls in order to prevent danger to customers. Although in this case the injuries have been minimal, it does not imply that all incidents will be minor ones. It is always possible for a serious injury to occur regardless of what the faulty product is and the nature of the defects or malfunctions.

For more information on recalls and other product liability issues, visit Solomon & Relihan's Product Liability information page.