Rental Car vehicle w/ expired inspection

I recently was in an accident w/ a rental car. The long and short of it..... I was not able to take a turn and hit a phone pole (snapped it in half actually). My question is this: The car was rented to me in mid February. I only recently noticed that the inspection on it was expired in December of 06. The brakes on the vehicle were feeling at the very minimum warped and could have been worn down too.

Can the rental company be held liable for the accident because they rented me a vehicle that was not road-worthy?

If so please respond to me w/ advice as to how to proceed @ lisa.m.rigby@sprint.com

[Law200]

Yes but you would have to prove the car was defective. You could seek an expert, and have them review the vehicle.

Hi, this is your rental agency attorney calling. You say you suspected the brakes were in disrepair?

Why didn't you take the vehicle back and get a different one instead of continuing to drive a vehicle you suspected was unsafe?

Why didn't you even bother to contact us prior to the accident to let us know your concerns about the brakes?

Seems to me we're looking at a good case for shared responsibility at worst.

OK, next thing is, when you had the accident, why were you going at such a rate of speed that you couldn't negotiate the turn in the first place? The fact that you were going fast enough despite hitting the brakes that you still snapped off a pole would indicate you were driving in a manner not consistent with what conditions required, more so because you were driving a vehicle you believed had brakes problems.

See where all this leads?

OK, damages, were you hurt? What bills did you have that weren't covered by an insurance policy?

Did the rental company make you pay for the car out of pocket or were you just liable for the deductable?

Seems to me you're hoping to make a buck off this more than actually be compensated for any real loss, and in reality you'd be suing for your own stupidity as much as anything else.

hmmm...