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Honda’s Repair Rules say, “You CAN be KILLED or SERIOUSLY HURT if you don’t follow the instructions.” Why did John Eagle Collision Center not follow the safety rules?
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I’ve been talking to a lot of people in the vehicle repair industry and one of the prevailing comments that’s always made is, “Hey, this little 2010 Honda Fit hit a 2010 Toyota Tundra truck, so who do you think is going to win that fight?”
Well, first of all, you got to realize this: this was not a frontal to frontal impact. The Honda Fit actually impacted into the wheel well of the Toyota Tundra. What is the weakest link in any vehicle? It’s either the rear end or the front fender well. That’s the first point.
The second point I want to talk to you about is, there’s a lot of people in the vehicle industry, repair industry that really have no concept of the importance of a roof panel. I want you to think about this, the roof panel on the vehicle, although it may be extremely flimsy and flexible, that’s precisely what it’s supposed to do.
It’s no different than a piece of plywood that you stick on a house when you’re framing the house. For those of you out there who would frame the house with 2×4’s or 2×6’s, you and frame and you secure it.
You can move that frame sideways, side-to-side, and guess what? The second you attach the plywood, what does that create? It creates a phenomenon known as a shear panel.
It’s no different than when I go and buy an IKEA bookshelf. That IKEA bookshelf, it looks like it’s rickety. It looks like it’s going to fall apart the second I put any books on it. But guess what? The second I put that little cardboard panel on the back, what happens? It becomes rigid because everything is tied together like a system.
I want you to think about this concept. If you do not have your safety systems tied together, you will literally have a failure, after failure, after failure, because of something called the domino effect. I’m going to discuss the domino effect in a part 2 segment. So I want to thank you for your time today.
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Auto insurance companies are forcing collision centers to make substandard repairs. This is a nationwide threat to the safety of unsuspecting motorists.
The Tracy Law Firm’s Vehicle Safety Crash Lab has uncovered the car insurance industry’s dirty little secret of pressuring auto body shops into not restoring their customers vehicles to the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) specifications.
What does this mean to you and your family? If you are in an accident, the defective repair work will likely cause the failure of your vehicle’s safety systems as well as the safety cage that’s designed to protect occupants from severe injury or death.
This heavy handed pressure by auto insurance companies turns a survivable accident into a catastrophic tragedy.
It gets worse. Our accident investigations have uncovered that used car dealers are not disclosing the full history of vehicle repairs to their customers. You cannot trust CARFAX to give you a true report about a vehicle’s repair record because they only report what used car dealers tell them. As the late President Ronald Reagan used to say, “You must trust but verify.”
Ethical collision centers want to do the right thing. When selecting a body shop, you should insist that it will fight the insurance company to pay for OEM standard repairs and equipment.
You should also put your insurance agent and the insurance carrier on notice in writing that they are putting your safety in jeopardy by not following OEM standards.
When the insurance claims adjuster calls after you report an accident, start the conversation by insisting that they confirm that your vehicle will be repaired according to all OEM standards.
Unfortunately, the defective body shop repairs coerced by the insurance industry are hidden beneath a fresh coat of paint. My clients, Matthew and Marcia Seebachan, would never have bought a used car that had a history of major body work. And they certainly would not have bought the used 2010 Honda Fit had they known a new steel roof had been glued on to replace hail damage.
Sadly, none of these safety defects came to light until Matthew was almost burned to death and Marcia was crushed in what should have been in minor car accident. That’s why they asked me to file lawsuits against John Eagle Collision Center in Dallas and State Farm Auto Insurance.
If you or a loved one believe you are the victim of a defective car repair, please feel free to contact me. My team of automotive engineers will examine your vehicle in The Tracy Law Firm’s Vehicle Safety Crash Lab in Dallas to determine if a defective repair caused severe injuries or death.
Contact Todd Tracy here to “Find Out If You Have A Case” or call 214-324-9000.
