defective brakes & airbag

[strokerace]

help, i was involved in auto accident driving my 2002 chevrolet tahoe. woman in front of me hit car in front of her, i hit her. my tahoe is considered a borderline total, the acident was bumper to bumper at approximately 35-45 mph, when i saw her hit car in front of her i slammed my brakes they initiated for 1 second than pedal fell to the ground, i tried again to hit brakes with no initiation. also the airbags did not deploy. anyone have advice, no of similar cases, or what the heck i should do.

 

[Michael Wechsler]

It is always your responsibility to maintain sufficient distance to brake to avoid hitting the car in front of you. This sounds like something the insurance companies will deal with, especially with regard to the culpability of the driver in the front, who may have been the cause of the accident. I'm not sure that your story about the brakes failing would be credible if you struck the car in front of you almost instantly and were not far from the vehicle in front of you. Impact would be very quick and I would wonder if you would have had chance to pump the brake pedal in such a short time period. I'm not sure that it will change what will eventually happen.

Have you spoken to your insurance company? What have they advised you? Are you aware of no fault issues with regard to insurance and state laws in your jurisdiction?