Car Accidents and Crashworthiness

Crashworthiness refers to the ability of a vehicle to protect its occupants in the event of a collision. Crashworthiness features such as airbags, seatbelts, rollbars, and headrests are designed to minimize injury and the risk of fire, as well as prevent ejection from the vehicle. However, when these features fail, serious injury can occur, leading to questions of crashworthiness.

Determining Crashworthiness

Crashworthiness cases primarily deal with the “second collision” in which the driver and passengers collide against the interior of the vehicle. The cause of the accident is typically irrelevant in crashworthiness cases.
There are two important questions to consider when determining crashworthiness:

• Could the vehicle occupants have fared better?
• Could some feature that was lacking in the vehicle have reduced the occupants' injuries?

Types of Vehicle Defects

Defects in any part of the vehicle may cause accidents, including:

• Airbags
• Door Latches
• Seat Backs
• Seat Belts
• Tires
• Roof
• Fuel System
• Child Restraints

Responsibility for Crashworthiness Defects

Defective crashworthiness features are a matter of product liability and fault for the defect typically lies in one of three areas:

• Design Defects: injury occurs when a vehicle is unsafe because of the manufacturer's design. For example, a fuel tank placed in a location that makes it likely to explode upon impact is a design defect.
• Manufacturing Defects: injury occurs when there is a flaw in the manufacturing process. For example, failure to include an airbag when the design calls for it is a manufacturing defect.
• Failure to Warn: injury occurs when the manufacturer is aware of a dangerous aspect of a vehicle but fails to warn or provide adequate warning to consumers.

An experienced attorney can review your case and help determine if a defective crashworthiness feature caused your accident and with whom the responsibility lies for this defect.

SUV and Other Vehicle Rollovers

Crashworthiness features are especially important in accidents that involve vehicle rollover. Since SUVs are more top heavy than passenger cars, they are more likely to roll over in the event of an accident. In addition, many SUVs are not equipped with a roll bar - a crashworthiness feature that reduces the degree to which the roof of the vehicle caves in. As a result, SUV rollover is more likely to result in serious and/or fatal injury.

Contact an Attorney in Your Area

If you or a family member has been involved in an auto accident and you suspect a faulty crashworthiness feature is to blame, an attorney can help. Use LawyerShop’s online directory to find an experienced auto accident attorney in your area who can advise you in your crashworthiness case.