Fundamental design flaws are responsible for increasing the effects of a rollover accident. In most cases, the manufacturers are partially responsible because of inadequate rollover protection design in the SUV.
The defects associated with SUV rollovers include but are not limited to:
Roof Crushes:
Many occupants, although belted, are severely injured in rollover accidents due to the failure of the passenger compartment to maintain its structure. In other words, the roof collapses. Design flaws prevent the vehicle's roof from holding up during the rollover accident. Vehicles designed without a-pillar support systems are simply not manufactured to withstand this type of stress. As a result, hundreds of Americans are killed, maimed or injured on our nation's roads each year. Roof crush cases generally involve neck or spine injuries that result from the occupant being crushed as the roof is flattened into the body of the vehicle. The effects of this type of injury can be devastating.
Seat Belt Failure:
Seat belt design failures increase the chance of serious injury or death during a rollover accident. The most common types of seat belt defects or failures are:
- Buckle unlatching during rollover
- Belts that skip or fail to hold under pressure
- Shoulder belts that allow too much slack
- Automatic or door-mounted seatbelts that kill and maim
A seat belt defect may apply if any of these factors are present:
- The occupant is believed to have been belted but found unbelted post-accident
- The occupant is belted but contacts the vehicle interior, which results in injury
- The seat belt buckle is latched after the accident but the occupant is ejected or found outside the belt
- The seat belt webbing is spooled out or lose after the accident
- The belted occupant is injured but the passenger compartment is intact
- The vehicle is equipped with a passive or automatic door-mounted belt system.
Safety Glass:
The use of standard tempered glass instead of laminated safety glass on SUV's is also a large safety concern. If the side or front windows shatter as a result of a rollover incident, the occupants will more than likely be thrown from the vehicle.
Laminated safety glass stays in tact during a violent crash, keeping the passengers inside the vehicle. What the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has found - and this seems pretty obvious - is that keeping people inside a vehicle dramatically increases their chances of surviving. However, since safety glass is not a required design feature, SUV drivers are at risk every time they sit behind the wheel.
TIP: Good quality photos should be taken of the roadway immediately after the accident to preserve scrapes and tire markings. Both distance and close-up photographs should be taken to show the scene of the accident.
If you have been involved in an SUV rollover accident or would like more information about something you have read here, please contact us at 800-966-4999 to speak to one of our qualified lawyers.
