Cruise Control Prob

[abluv]

Hi there, I'm new to the board but from what I have read so far this group seems to be very helpful and knowlegeable.

I had a wreck in a 97 Century last year - still going to therapy for it. The cruise control would not disengage when my Mom turned it off. Instead the car sped up and we crashed into a tree at 65mph. We had an engineer look at the black box on the thing but he couldn't read the info about the cruise control - how wonderful! He could see that we had our safety belts on and that we crashed at 65 but he could not tell that the cruise was engaged

Has anyone else had problems with cruise in a 97 Century?

Is there any compensation that I might be able to receive from the company, such as a discount on another car?

Any advice would be much appreciated.

Thanx,
abluv

[BNaylor]

Welcome.

It is really hard to say in your situation especially with the age of the car and fair wear and tear.

What compensation are you looking for.....from GM?

When your Mom tried to disengage the cruise control at any time did she apply the brakes? When braking it is supposed to deactivate the cruise control.

It sounds like a very difficult case to prove product liability.

[abluv]

Mama used the on/off button instead of the brakes. That's the way she always does it. Is that bad?

[BNaylor]

I wouldn't say it is bad because the cruise control should disengage when taken to off but the problem is then you are subject to human error. Maybe in a panic she took it to resume/accelerate? So it is hard to say.

As to proving product liability the burden will be on the Plaintiff. GM has high paid lawyers that specialize in fighting these type cases. They will most likely raise a defense stating that it was your Mom's fault - contributory negligence.

Also, to prove these cases is expensive. An expert witness will be required to testify that there was an actual malfunction and GM is liable.

[abluv]

Thank you for your reply.