Legal Question in Product Liability in Massachusetts
Wheel Separated on BMW due to dealer negligence. Lawsuit?
In a nutshell, a BMW dealership in NY neglected to properly tighten the lugs on my wheel and this led to a wheel separation in Boston a few days ago.
About 2 months ago, I took my 97 BMW 540 to the dealership for an tire rotation. They didn't fix anything.
Now, I'm in Boston and I am driving to NYC for an interview. 30 miles into my drive, I hear this rattling noise. Like a washing machine out of spin balance. I pull over at the next exit to inspect. No overt damage.
Luckly, the nearest BMW dealer is 1 mile away. So I begin my journey, and about 0.5 miles later I hear a LOUD crashing noise from the vehicle. Call tow truck.
When we load the car on the truck it's now apparent that the driver's side REAR tire has completely separated from the vehicle - all 5 studs are sheared.
At the dealership they immediately inform me that this can only be caused by a failure to appropriately tighten the lug nuts by the first dealership.
Q: Had I driven just another mile on the highway, I would have had a full blown separation that would have sheared the car in half and likely caused me death and/or severe injury to say the least. Additionally, the tire would have hit a few cars behind me. Is there a case here? Any advise?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Wheel Separated on BMW due to dealer negligence. Lawsuit?
The operative word in your question is "Had" as in "Had I driven just another mile on the highway..." The fact is that you didn't and you really didn't suffer any serious damage. I am sure that replacing the sheared studs was relatively inexpensive.
It's obvious that the first dealership was negligent in not tightening the lug nuts properly. However, in order to have a valid claim, you must be able to show damages. I don't believe that you can do that here.
Good luck.
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