Electric vehicles (EVs) are here to stay. EVs create fewer emissions compared to gas-powered vehicles and lower our reliance on fossil fuels. However, their batteries can pose significant risks to passengers and first responders.
When an EV is involved in a collision, the impact can damage the battery. This leads to a thermal runaway, a chain reaction where the battery generates excessive heat. The increased heat can cause the battery to catch fire or explode. The fires can be hard to put out and can emit toxic fumes.
If you’re involved in an electric vehicle accident and the lithium battery catches fire, you may be at a higher risk of serious injury. Here’s how this can affect your personal injury claim.
How do lithium battery fires affect personal injury claims?
Liability in accidents with lithium battery fires may be attributed to one or more parties. For example, insurance companies and juries will always consider whether a driver acted negligently. Each driver is assigned a percentage of fault, and their potential compensation can be reduced by that amount.
However, if the battery or the EV was defectively designed or manufactured, you may be able to hold the vehicle manufacturer liable. Similarly, if the battery manufacturer is responsible for a poorly designed or defectively manufactured battery, and that battery causes injury during an accident, they could be held responsible. Finally, service providers who improperly maintain or repair batteries may be liable.
Because injuries from lithium battery fires can be so severe, they can affect how much compensation plaintiffs receive. Common injuries include severe burns and respiratory issues from inhaling toxic fumes. These injuries often result in higher medical expenses, longer recovery times and greater emotional distress, all of which can increase the compensation you may be entitled to.
Proving negligence or strict liability
In car accident claims, you must prove negligence or strict liability to recover compensation. To prove negligence, you have to show that a party (such as another driver or a service provider) had a duty to avoid causing harm, they failed in that duty and as a direct result, you suffered harm.
Strict liability is different. This applies in product liability cases, like when defectively designed or manufactured batteries cause a fire during an accident. Plaintiffs only need to show that the vehicle or battery was defective and that this defect caused the injuries.
Proving fault in either scenario typically involves evidence like eyewitness testimony, surveillance and dashcam footage, photographs of the scene, expert testimony and medical documentation. Whenever you’re involved in an accident, keep careful records of your injuries, treatments and any long-term impacts—then call the Law Offices of Tim Misny right away.
Discuss your claim with a personal injury lawyer today
The Law Offices of Tim Misny can help you with your accident claim. If you or a loved one were injured due to someone else’s negligence or recklessness, I’ll Make Them Pay!® Call my office at (877) 944-4373 so that I can evaluate your case right away.
