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Lawyers for Victims of Rollover and Roof Crush Accidents Nationwide
SUVs (Sport Utility Vehicles) account for many of the most dangerous vehicles on our streets today. Originally designed for off road use, certain SUVs were developed with high suspensions and narrow wheelbases. Unfortunately, most SUVs are in use on highways — often traveling at high speeds. Due to the high center of gravity in SUV design and failure of auto safety products, serious and fatal rollover and roof crush accidents are commonplace.
If you were injured or a loved one died in a car, truck or SUV rollover and roof crush accident in Texas or anywhere in the United States, we invite you to contact Miller, Curtis & Weisbrod for a free consultation with an experienced personal injury trial attorney. From our offices in Dallas, we serve clients across the country.
Are Design Flaws to Blame in Your Rollover and Roof Crush Accident?
Because many SUVs have high centers of gravity (due to high suspensions) combined with top heavy designs and narrow wheelbases, they are particularly susceptible to rollover and roof crush accidents when a driver is forced to make a foreseeable evasive maneuver at highway speed. However, the design flaws in certain SUVs, 15 passenger vans, buses and other vehicles don't stop there.
Real Case Result: $3.2 million in a defective products lawsuit on behalf of a client who suffered brain injury due to roof crush. A contingent (%) fee charged on the successful recovery resulted in a fee of $1,280,000.00 and $120,000.00 in litigation expenses, which were reimbursed by the client out of the gross settlement amount.
Despite the high likelihood of a rollover accident, many auto manufacturers failed to design adequate safety measures into the vehicles. Among other things, the lack of a reinforced roof structure and defective seats, seat belts and air bags in many models increase the likelihood of death or serious injury during a rollover accident. In many rollover accidents, passengers are ejected from the vehicle due to defective auto glass and roofs cave in due to a lack of crashworthiness, further increasing the likelihood of catastrophic injury and death.
Motor vehicle manufacturers are aware of these design defects, but decide not to correct them — choosing corporate profits over driver and passenger safety. Unfortunately, many innocent victims have paid the price for this greed with serious injuries and their lives. In fact, more than ten thousand people are killed in rollover and roof crush accidents each year.
The Texas law firm of Miller, Curtis & Weisbrod is a nationally-recognized leader in the fight to hold negligent automakers and parts manufacturers to account for the injuries and deaths they cause. Please call our offices in Dallas toll free at 888.987.0005 to discuss your case with an experienced and dedicated trial attorney.
Key Points on Rollover and Roof Crush Risks
The major sources of the most serious rollover injuries are:
- Roof intrusion causing severe head and neck injuries
- Full and partial ejection, primarily through broken side windows
Even belted occupants suffer partial ejection of their arms and heads, while unbelted occupants can be completely ejected. The new NHTSA standard addresses neither of these major causes of injury to side occupants, and would leave even belted occupants exposed to risks from ejection. Other potential causes include failure of electronic stability control devices and defective tires that blow out at high speed.
Ejection is a Major Cause of Serious and Fatal Injury
In a rollover and roof crush accident, the survival space for occupants is greatly limited or eliminated altogether, so that the heads and spines of occupants hit the roof. In addition, roof crush can open ejection portals — making windows and the windshield area very large and leading to ejection of occupants, which is frequently fatal. Years of crash investigations have shown that as many as one-half of seriously injured ejected occupants could have received their initial injuries as a consequence of roof crush.
Automaker Liability in Rollover and Roof Crush Accidents
According to federal statistics, approximately 7,000 people each year are killed or severely injured in vehicle accidents in which the roof crushes or caves in. Detroit's top automakers, armed with political muscle and reams of research, have fought costly upgrades to a 33-year-old roof-strength standard, even while their own European operations build and test stronger roofs. General Motors Corporation and Ford Motor Co. essentially drafted the regulation as it stands.
The auto industry has tried to obscure the engineering principles which would have emphasized maintaining survival space by arguing in court and to NHTSA that occupants "dive" into the roof. This ignores the obvious fact that if the seat structures and safety belts held occupants in place during a roll, and if the roof was strong enough to withstand the weight of the car, the head and spine of occupants would be safe. Accident investigations have shown that injuries among occupants directly correlate with the location of roof intrusion in the vehicle. That is to say, where there is roof crush, occupants are injured, and where someone is uninjured, there is little-or-no roof crush.
In 1971, the automakers led an industry-wide effort to convince federal officials to adopt a minimum standard for roof strength, but only after their vehicle fleets failed the government's first proposed test, according to internal corporate documents examined by The Detroit News. "It's been known for quite some time that this is a standard that needs updating," the NHTSA Chief told The News.
Juries in Texas, California and Nebraska have repeatedly rejected Big Three-backed studies that deny a link between crushed roofs and injuries. Safety groups have stepped up their campaign for a new roof-strength standard with new verdicts that have come in, including a $225 million verdict against Ford in a roof crush case.
The NHTSA is looking hard at recent crash data to establish a direct relationship between collapsing roofs and catastrophic injuries. In filings with NHTSA, GM, Ford and DaimlerChrysler contend there is no need for new standards. NHTSA publishes safety ratings based on frontal and side-impact crash tests, but consumers don't know how their vehicle's roof will react until it literally occurs.
"Some manufacturers take weight out to reduce their strength-to-weight ratios down closer to the minimum," said a senior engineer of the firm Safety Analysis and Forensic Engineering, which advises plaintiffs in lawsuits against automakers. European manufacturers, including GM's Saab and Opel units, employ high-strength steel to improve the strength of roofs.
Contact Miller, Curtis & Weisbrod Today
To learn more about your rights and legal options in seeking maximum financial recovery after a serious or fatal rollover and roof crush accident, please call our Dallas office at 214.987.0005. Your initial consultation with an experienced personal injury trial lawyer will be free. If we represent you in a claim or lawsuit, there will be no legal fees or costs for you to pay until we obtain a settlement or jury award on your behalf.
If you live in New York, Seattle, Portland, Kansas City, Denver, Miami, Washington, D.C., Boston, Atlanta, El Paso, Austin, San Antonio or anywhere else nationwide, please call us toll free at 888.987.0005 or contact us by e-mail to schedule an appointment.
