Emissions are dangerous – legal action is important

We are now over six years on from the breaking news that shook the world, when the original Volkswagen “dieselgate” scandal hit the headlines. Given that emissions are dangerous, news of their alleged behaviour had a huge impact across the globe and on the transport industry on the whole.

Right from the start, in September 2015 when news of the scandal broke, we decided to take action there and then. We recognised straight away just how serious this was, and the massive impact that it would have here in the UK. That is why we immediately started taking claims for compensation forward so we could take legal action for what had been going on. If we were not the first firm to formally accept No Win, No Fee legal cases, we were certainly one of them. When others were just registering details and unsure about what to do, we took legal action right away.

It has been a long fight, and it is far from over. And it is an incredibly important fight for many reasons also.

Emissions are dangerous

In the simplest of sentences, we can sum up the importance of the legal action that we are taking by reminding you all that emissions are dangerous.

Vehicle emissions can cause harm to human health and to the environment. Some scientists have tried to speculate the number of extra premature deaths potentially brought on by alleged emissions cheating, and they put the figure in the thousands. Ultimately, emissions from vehicles are regulated for a very good reason. These regulations are there to protect us and to reduce the harm caused to human health and to our environment.

As such, there is simply no excuse for such behaviour, and we must hold carmakers to account.

If they did cheat, why did they do so?

It can be hard to know for sure why any carmaker might have cheated, if allegations against them are proven to be true. But the most obvious assumption is that it is about vehicle performance.

Reducing emissions outputs normally means less powerful vehicles that may consume more fuel and may not be as efficient. This is the way in which vehicles can be made to produce fewer emissions and keep them within legal limits. Clearly, this can be off-putting for some customers who may prefer more powerful vehicles, and it is generally assumed that some carmakers may have allegedly cheated because they did not want to lose business. If they were afraid that they simply could not keep their vehicles legal without altering how they drive so much, it is thought that this was the motivation for cheating.

Clearly, this is not acceptable. There is no excuse at all to just cheat when you cannot make things work. But that is the reality we may well be facing.

How does legal action for compensation help?

Given that emissions are dangerous, and the allegations are that regulations have been broken, clearly, any carmaker that is found to have cheated must be punished. A group action lawsuit can hit them where hit really hurts – in the pocket. That is where big businesses are usually the most impacted, so making sure that they pay financially is a key thing we can do as leading civil claims lawyers.

But there is also the impact on their customers. If allegations are correct, people have been cheated. They may well have purchased a vehicle under false pretences. And, if they need to have corrective software or updates applied to remove or prevent any kind of defeat device, there could be a real impact on the performance of the vehicle. In short, that may well not be the vehicle you purchased!

So, to hold big carmakers to account properly, make sure to claim compensation now with our Car Emissions Lawyers here. We can work on a No Win, No Fee basis for eligible clients too.