Auto Product Liability Lawyers in Sacramento

Does Vehicle Crashworthiness Affect Your Case?

A vehicle's crashworthiness is its ability to protect occupants during any type of impact. Aspects of the vehicle contributing to its crashworthiness include the structural design elements like door locks, airbags, seat belts, tires, and suspension. Regardless of where in the world they are manufactured, new vehicles are subjected to exhaustive testing during development to ensure the safety of their occupants. If you have been in an accident that may have been caused or exacerbated by how your vehicle was manufactured, Piering Law Firm in Sacramento can help.

Testing The Potential Effects Of An Accident

Vehicle safety is tested by subjecting crash test dummies to the various types of possible collisions, including head-on, rear-end, and rollover accidents. Within these test scenarios, instruments attached to the vehicles and dummies record details of the accident and resulting damage and injuries. This allows engineers and other experts to attempt to minimize the harm resulting from vehicle collisions.

Common Factors Affecting Crashworthiness

If any features of a motor vehicle’s design or construction are defective or low-quality, catastrophic injury and wrongful death may result even from modest car crashes.

Examples of such problems include:

• Airbag defects: Airbags that inflate too easily or forcefully can cause injuries rather than prevent them; airbags that fail to inflate can contribute to serious injury or death.
• Defective door locks: Doors that don’t latch properly can fly open during a crash ejecting vehicle occupants.
• Defective seatbelts: These can fail to prevent a driver or passenger from hitting the inside of a vehicle or from being ejected. Defective seatbelts can also cause injuries to your insides, neck, and chest.
• Design defects: Defects in the overall design of a vehicle can lead to an increased risk for rollover accidents, or a component like the roof or windshield to break easily.
• Fuel tank defects: A defective fuel system can lead to a fire after a car accident.
• Tire defects: These can involve anything from blowouts to insufficient stopping power.

To schedule a free consultation with one of the knowledgeable attorneys of Piering Law Firm in Sacramento, call (916) 476-2399 or contact us by email.

When Litigation Becomes Necessary

There is a specific type of litigation against auto makers when a vehicle's design causes an accident or makes the harm from an accident worse than it would have been otherwise. This is commonly known as crashworthiness litigation.

Seat belts are items that are often addressed in this litigation. If a seat belt fails in a collision, a vehicle occupant may be seriously injured in ways that would not have occurred had the seat belt worked as it's meant to.

Similarly, an implosion in the vehicle can cause a piece of the car's body, engine, or machinery to forcefully enter the passenger compartment, leading to massive injuries to the vehicle's occupants. Studies suggest that these types of intrusion injuries do not occur in vehicles with superior designs.

Our Sacramento auto product liability lawyers offer appointments in your home and on weekends when necessary. We handle our cases on a contingency basis, so you only pay us once we have won your case. Contact us today. Se habla español.