Kentucky Defective Vehicle and Crashworthiness Lawyer

Reviewed by Larry Forman, Attorney

Most crashes start with a driver's mistake. But some injuries end up far worse than they should have been because a defective vehicle failed to protect the people inside. An airbag that never deployed, or fired with too much force. A seat belt that came unlatched. A roof that collapsed in a rollover. A fuel system that caught fire in a crash the occupants should have walked away from. In Kentucky, a failure like that can support a claim against the company that built the vehicle or the part, in addition to the claim against the driver who caused the crash.

What is a crashworthiness claim?

A crashworthiness claim, sometimes called an "enhanced injury" or "second collision" claim, doesn't say the defect caused the crash. It says the defect made the injuries worse. The first collision is the car hitting something. The second is the occupant hitting the inside of the car, or being thrown out of it, because a safety system didn't do its job.

Kentucky's Supreme Court described the claim in Toyota Motor Corp. v. Gregory, 136 S.W.3d 35 (Ky. 2004): the claim "is that the design of the vehicle failed to reasonably protect the occupant in a collision." The Court listed the three things a plaintiff has to show, the same elements federal courts in Kentucky use:

1. A safer alternative design that was practical under the circumstances
2. What injuries, if any, the occupant would have had with that safer design
3. A way to measure how much worse the injuries were because of the defect

A car doesn't have to be crash-proof. The question is whether it gave the protection a reasonably safe design would have given in that crash.

Defective vehicle failures that make crashes worse

These are the problems we see most often in defective vehicle cases:

• Airbags that don't deploy, deploy late, deploy in a minor bump, or have an inflator that ruptures. Federal regulators have overseen recalls of tens of millions of vehicles for airbag inflators.
• Seat belts that unlatch in a crash (sometimes called "false latching"), retractors that spool out, or pretensioners that fail
• Roof crush and weak pillars in a rollover. See our rollover accident page.
• Door latches and side structures that open or give way, so occupants can be thrown out
• Seatbacks that collapse backward in a rear-end impact, sending the occupant into the back seat
• Fuel system and battery fires after an impact. See our burn injury lawyer page.
• Child restraint anchors that fail. See child car seat injuries.

Other defects cause the crash itself: brake failure, sudden acceleration, loss of steering, tire tread separation, or a driver-assistance feature that steers or brakes at the wrong moment. Those are product liability claims too, just not "crashworthiness" claims. For automated features, see our self-driving car crash lawyer page.

Who can be held responsible

Kentucky's Product Liability Act covers "any action brought for or on account of personal injury, death or property damage caused by or resulting from the manufacture, construction, design, formulation, … testing, … warning, instructing, marketing, … or labeling of any product" (KRS 411.300(1)). In a vehicle case, that can include:

• The vehicle manufacturer
• The maker of the failed part, such as an airbag, seat belt or tire supplier
• A repair shop that botched a brake job or a recall repair
• The other driver, who is still responsible for causing the crash

Dealers are a narrower target. A dealer that sold the vehicle in the condition it arrived in generally isn't liable for the defect when the manufacturer is identified and can be sued in Kentucky, unless the dealer breached an express warranty or knew or should have known the vehicle was defective (KRS 411.340).

When several parties share the blame, Kentucky's comparative fault statute lets the jury assign each one a percentage (KRS 411.182). Our Kentucky negligence law guide explains how that works.

What manufacturers argue

Expect these defenses:

• "There was no safer design." Kentucky requires proof of a feasible, safer alternative design, and the Gregory Court upheld a jury instruction that said so. That proof comes from engineers who study the vehicle and its competitors.
• "The car is too old." A product is presumed not defective if the injury happened more than 5 years after the first sale or more than 8 years after it was made. The vehicle is also presumed not defective if its design and testing met the "generally recognized and prevailing standards or the state of the art" at the time (KRS 411.310). Both presumptions can be overcome with evidence. Neither is a deadline.
• "It was altered." A manufacturer is liable only for what would have happened if the product had been used in its original condition, and skipping routine care and maintenance counts as an alteration (ordinary wear and tear doesn't) (KRS 411.320(1)). Aftermarket lift kits, airbag replacements and ignored warning lights all come up here.
• "The occupant wasn't buckled." In Kentucky, not wearing a seat belt "shall not constitute negligence per se" (KRS 189.125(5)). But under Wemyss v. Coleman, 729 S.W.2d 174 (Ky. 1987), the defense can ask the jury to reduce damages if it proves the missing belt made specific injuries worse.

Save the vehicle: the most important step

A defective vehicle case is usually won or lost on the vehicle itself. The problem is that insurers move fast. A badly damaged car is often declared a total loss, moved to a salvage yard and sold at auction within weeks. Once it's crushed or shipped out of state, the airbag module, belts and wiring are gone.

• Tell the insurer in writing not to sell or destroy the car until it has been inspected. A lawyer can send a formal preservation letter to the insurer, the tow yard and the salvage company.
• Talk to a lawyer before signing over the title on a total loss. The insurer usually takes ownership when it pays, and with it control of the evidence. See our property damage claim guide.
• Don't repair or strip it. Keep the belts, the car seat and anything removed at the scene.
• Download the event data recorder. Many passenger vehicles have one, and a covered recorder captures speed, throttle, braking, driver seat belt status and airbag deployment timing (49 CFR 563.7). Federal law makes that data the property of the vehicle's owner or lessee. An accident reconstruction uses it alongside the crush measurements.
• Photograph everything, inside and out. See our list of evidence to preserve after an accident.

Event data also matters for the other driver's share of fault. In a speeding crash, for example, the recorder can show how fast each car was going.

Recalls and complaints

Check the vehicle's VIN on NHTSA's recall lookup. Recall repairs are free at a dealer. An open recall for the part that failed is strong evidence, but it isn't required: many defects are never recalled, and a recall doesn't automatically prove the defect caused your injuries. Consumer complaints and investigations in NHTSA's database can show what the manufacturer knew. If you were driving a rental with an open recall, see our rental car accident page.

How long do you have to file?

For people hurt in a crash, Kentucky's Supreme Court has held that the no-fault law's two-year deadline can apply to claims against someone other than the drivers. In Bailey v. Reeves, 662 S.W.2d 832 (Ky. 1984), the Court used a brake failure as its example: a crash victim "may have claims against a motorist, a garage repairman, and an automobile manufacturer," and it would make little sense to give them different deadlines. The two years run from the injury or the last PIP payment, whichever is later (KRS 304.39-230(6)). See how Kentucky PIP works.

Don't count on the full two years, though. A spouse's loss of consortium claim has only one year. Vehicles that don't count as "motor vehicles" under the no-fault law, like many ATVs, follow the one-year personal injury rule. And manufacturers sometimes argue for the shorter deadline. We plan these cases around one year. Our statute of limitations guide lists the other deadlines.

How Forman & Associates handles defective vehicle cases

We move first on the car. We send preservation letters, arrange for the vehicle to be stored, and have engineers inspect it and download its data before anything is lost. We research recalls, complaints and the design of competing vehicles to find the safer alternative Kentucky law requires. Then we pursue every responsible party: the driver who caused the crash, the manufacturer, the part supplier and any repair shop. These cases are often tried, so we prepare them for trial from the start. Larry Forman has tried 50+ jury trials and won 95% of them. Learn more about Larry Forman, see our case results (past results don't guarantee a similar outcome), or return to our product liability lawyer page.

If a defect led to a death, see our wrongful death lawyer page. For head injuries from a failed airbag or belt, see our traumatic brain injury lawyer page.

Defective vehicle FAQs

Can I sue the car manufacturer if my airbag didn't deploy?

Possibly. Many crashes are below the speed at which an airbag is designed to fire. If yours should have deployed and didn't, and that made your injuries worse, you may have a claim. The airbag module's data is key.

What is the difference between a crashworthiness claim and a regular defect claim?

A regular defect claim says the defect caused the crash, like brakes that failed. A crashworthiness claim says someone else caused the crash, but a defect made the injuries worse.

The insurance company wants to total my car. What should I do?

Ask in writing that the car be held, not sold or crushed, until it's inspected. Talk to a lawyer before you sign over the title, because the insurer will control the evidence once it owns the car.

Does a recall prove my car was defective?

Not by itself. An open recall for the part that failed is strong evidence, but you still have to show the defect caused or worsened your injuries. Many defects are never recalled.

What if I wasn't wearing a seat belt?

You can still bring a claim. In Kentucky it isn't negligence by itself, but the manufacturer can try to prove the missing belt made specific injuries worse and ask the jury to reduce damages for that share.

How long do I have to file a defective vehicle claim?

Often two years from the crash or the last PIP payment, under Bailey v. Reeves. Some related claims have one year, and manufacturers may argue for it, so talk to a lawyer well within the first year.

Hurt worse than the crash should have caused?

Let's find out whether the vehicle failed you. Get a free case evaluation or call (502) 931-6788. No fee unless we win.

This page is general information about Kentucky law as of October 2026, not legal advice.