There is nothing more tragic than the unexpected death of a loved one. In Tennessee, people die in car crashes every year; sometimes they’re true accidents, and sometimes a person is at fault. The real horrors, however, are when those deaths are caused by shoddy products or defective machinery. When manufacturers put a product out that doesn’t comply with the highest standards of production, we all pay the price.

Trust your car manufacturer? Think again.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration compiles a daily list of auto recalls by manufacturers. There have been 13 recalls so far in May alone, and that list grows every day. The list of defects runs the gamut from improper labeling to broken passenger-side airbags, to potential fuel fires. Some of the more common automotive defects include:

• SUVs and ATVs with construction that makes them prone to roll over
• Faulty electronic equipment which can cause your car to accelerate or decelerate unexpectedly
• Airbags which do not deploy, or deploy at unsafe speeds
• Seatbelts which break loose from their locking systems
• Defective tires which are prone to blow out
• Improper balancing which causes trucks and trailers to tip over or jackknife
• Motorcycles which “wobble” at high speeds
• Seats that do not stay in their locked position

On the one hand, it’s good that car manufacturers are recalling automobiles with potential problems so they can fix the issues. On the other hand, why weren’t these issues addressed before those cars rolled off the lines?

The problem comes down to risk assessment. Car companies aren’t the only guilty parties here; the pharmaceutical industry works the same way. A manufacturer of a product determines how many people are likely to die from using the product. If that number is small enough compared to how many people would be helped –and possibly how much money has already been invested – then the product makes it to the shelves, so to speak. It’s a heinous practice, and does little to assure that we as consumers are getting a product that’s safe.

It’s important, however, to remember that sometimes it’s not the manufacturers who are at fault: an untested design or a flaw that goes unnoticed by distributers could also lead to the tragic death of a person you know and love. And sometimes people die in accidents that are totally unrelated to a defect in the machine they drive. But the idea that companies might not fully test the thousands of pounds of mechanized steel we trust to get us from Point A to Point B absolutely flabbergasts us.

If you were in a car wreck on the highways or back roads of Tennessee, make sure you speak to an attorney. You never know whether the accident could be the result of someone else’s negligence.