The Miami Car Accident Lawyer, Jonathan Perazzo, believes that most crash victims assume their case runs against one person: the driver who hit them. It often runs against two. When something about the vehicle itself makes injuries worse — a door that will not open, an electronic release that fails after the car loses power, a post-crash fire — Florida law may support a separate vehicle defect claim against the manufacturer, alongside the negligence claim against the at-fault driver.
What Federal Regulators Did in July 2026 — and What They Did Not Do
On July 23, 2026, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) granted a petition asking it to require “a robust and obvious door egress system in all motor vehicles.” The concern behind the petition is straightforward: a concealed or hard-to-find door release can keep an occupant from getting out during a crash or a fire, and electrically operated handles may stop working once a vehicle loses power.
The distinction matters. Granting a rulemaking petition is not a decision to issue a new safety standard. It begins a process — gathering data, taking public comment, and then deciding whether a standard is appropriate at all. Nothing in federal law has changed. No manufacturer is required to do anything differently today, and any compliance date from a rulemaking of this kind would be years away. The announcement is context — a federal acknowledgment that emergency egress is a live safety question — not a finding of fault.
It lands harder here than in most states. Florida ranks second nationally in registered electric vehicles, with more than 250,000, so a large share of the vehicles at the center of the egress question are on Florida roads. That makes this a practical issue for Florida crash victims well before it becomes a regulatory one.
Two Claims: Driver Negligence and a Vehicle Defect Claim
A negligence claim against the at-fault driver and a product liability claim against the manufacturer are different cases with different proof. They can proceed at the same time, and one is not a substitute for the other.
The difference is practical. A driver claim is generally limited by whatever insurance that driver carried. A manufacturer claim reaches a corporate defendant and a different layer of potential resources. For a catastrophically injured person, whether there is one available defendant or two can change what a claim is realistically able to address. Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
How a Vehicle Defect Claim Works in Florida
Florida product liability claims generally rest on one of three theories:
- Design defect — the product was built exactly as intended, but the design itself is unreasonably dangerous.
- Manufacturing defect — the design was sound, but this particular unit came off the line wrong.
- Failure to warn — the manufacturer knew of a danger and did not give adequate instructions or warnings.
An egress case can implicate more than one. Where the emergency release was placed, whether it works without power, and whether owners and first responders were told how to find it are separate questions with separate answers.
Crashworthiness: When the Vehicle Makes the Injury Worse
Under the crashworthiness or “enhanced injury” theory — recognized in product liability generally — a manufacturer can be responsible for injuries the vehicle made worse, even though it had nothing to do with causing the collision. The question shifts from who caused the wreck to whether the vehicle made the outcome worse than it should have been. If a survivable collision turned catastrophic because an occupant could not get out, that gap between the crash injury and the final injury is what an enhanced-injury claim addresses.
Comparative Fault Under Florida Law
Under Fla. Stat. §768.81, as amended in 2023, a person found more than 50% at fault for their own injuries recovers nothing. Below that line, recovery is reduced in proportion to fault.
Expect that issue to be raised. Speed, impairment, distraction, and seat belt use are standard areas of inquiry, because the fault percentage directly affects what a defendant may owe. Your own conduct is part of the analysis in any Florida injury case, and it is better assessed early than discovered late.
Deadlines You Cannot Get Back
For negligence-based injury claims arising on or after March 24, 2023, Fla. Stat. §95.11 generally sets a two-year deadline. Florida also places an outer time limit on product liability claims tied to how long ago the product was delivered, so an older vehicle can create a timing problem even when the crash is recent. That outer limit is fact-specific and should be checked against the actual vehicle immediately rather than assumed.
Where someone died, the claim runs under Fla. Stat. §§768.16–768.26. The personal representative of the estate brings it on behalf of the statutory survivors — not the survivors individually.
The Vehicle Is the Evidence, and It Disappears
In a defect case the proof is not a document. It is the car — and the car is often gone within weeks: towed, sold to salvage, repaired, or crushed. What has to survive:
- The event data recorder — the “black box,” which can capture speed, braking, restraint deployment, and impact data in the seconds around the crash.
- The door hardware — handles, latches, actuators, and the mechanical release, in the condition they were in after impact.
- The battery and electrical system — what lost power, when, and what stopped working as a result.
- Service and recall history — what the manufacturer knew, what it told owners, and what work was or was not performed.
- Photographs taken before the vehicle is moved — scene images capture positions and damage no later inspection can recreate.
A lawyer’s first move is usually a preservation letter — often called a spoliation letter — to the insurer, the tow or storage yard, and the manufacturer, putting each on written notice not to destroy, repair, or alter the vehicle. For owners, one practical warning: do not sign a salvage or total-loss disposal authorization before the vehicle has been inspected. That signature can end a defect case before it starts.
Nothing in this article is a statement of fault about any specific vehicle, manufacturer, or pending matter. Whether any particular vehicle is defective is a fact-specific question that depends on evidence, engineering analysis, and the circumstances of the individual crash.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I sue the manufacturer if another driver caused the crash?
Potentially — the two claims are separate. The driver claim addresses who caused the collision; the manufacturer claim addresses whether the vehicle made the resulting injuries worse. Whether a manufacturer claim exists depends on evidence from the vehicle itself, which is why early inspection matters.
What if I was partly at fault for the crash?
Under Fla. Stat. §768.81, partial fault reduces recovery proportionally, and being found more than 50% at fault bars recovery entirely. A defect claim does not change that analysis, so it should be evaluated at the outset rather than after a case is filed.
How long do I have to file?
For negligence-based injury claims arising on or after March 24, 2023, Fla. Stat. §95.11 generally allows two years. Product claims carry an additional outer limit measured from when the product was delivered, and wrongful death claims run under Fla. Stat. §§768.16–768.26. Confirm your deadline rather than estimating it.
My car is at a salvage yard. Is it too late?
Not necessarily, but time is against you. A vehicle sitting in storage can often still be located and preserved through written notice to the yard and the insurer. Once it is crushed or parted out, the central evidence is gone permanently.
Talk to a Florida Car Accident Lawyer
If you were hurt in a crash and could not get out of the vehicle — or if a family member did not — the vehicle needs to be examined before it is released, repaired, or scrapped. That inspection is what a vehicle defect claim is built on. The Perazzo Law Firm offers a free, confidential consultation, and there is no attorney’s fee unless we recover.
Call 888-PERAZZO or request a free case review. You can also read how our firm handles Florida crash claims, or speak with a Florida car accident lawyer about what preserving the vehicle would involve in your situation.
Attorney advertising. The Perazzo Law Firm, North Miami Beach, Florida. This article is general information about Florida law and is not legal advice; reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome.