Crashworthiness of a Vehicle in Car Accident Cases
Vehicle manufacturers try to make their cars as safe as possible through constant testing and data analysis. Their primary goal is to increase a car’s ability to withstand a crash. However, defective safety features and design flaws could worsen a car accident. Even if a car’s crashworthiness wasn’t the direct cause of your accident, the manufacturer could still be liable.
The car accident attorneys at Kemmy Law Firm have helped many victims just like you recover the compensation they need to heal from their injuries. We use our legal knowledge and resources to fight for the best possible outcome in your case.
What is Crashworthiness?
Crashworthiness is a vehicle’s ability to protect all occupants during a collision. While a vehicle’s crashworthiness doesn’t guarantee you won’t sustain injuries in an accident, it certainly reduces the severity of your crash.
Vehicle part manufacturers have a duty to ensure that their car is reasonably safe should a collision occur and that all safety features perform as promised. The crashworthiness doctrine states that vehicle manufacturers could be liable if a design defect increased the severity of a crash.
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All of our clients have families of their own. They are decent, hardworking people, and come to us with complex business issues or because their lives have been changed by a catastrophic injury.
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$20 MILLION Oil and gas case involving significant economic harm
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$13.5 MILLIONJury VerdictPatient paralyzed after nurses failed to tell a doctor about a change in condition
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$8 MILLION Young college student suffers brain injury from negligent conduct
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$7.5 MILLION West texas woman becomes brain injured when basic safety rules were not followed
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$6.2 MILLIONJury VerdictMarine veteran suffers catastrophic harm after a dangerous fall
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$6 MILLION Children who were abused by an employee of a company that was entrusted with the care of children
What Makes a Car Crash-Worthy?
New technology and innovations have made cars more crash-worthy than ever before. Researchers are continuously gathering data from tests to see what best protects a vehicle’s occupants, which goes far beyond seat belts and airbags. Much of what makes a car crash-worthy has to do with its materials.
Materials like different types of foam have been tested to see how they help absorb the impact of a collision. Researchers have also experimented with various vehicle designs that improve a car’s structural integrity. Whether it be through new safety additions or design tweaks, drivers should understand their car’s crashworthiness in the event of an accident.
Here are some of the many features used to improve crashworthiness:
- Crumple Zones – Also known as crush zones, these areas of the vehicle crumple or fold back during a crash to absorb the impact of a collision.
- Airbags – Proper airbag placement prevents occupants from hitting the dashboard in front of them or the doors/windows next to them.
- Seatbelts – Ejection is a major concern for even minor accidents, and occupants depend on a functioning seatbelt.
- Roll Bars – A truck’s cab could cave in during a rollover accident, and the triangular steel bar on the back improves its structural integrity.
- Safety Cages – These are part of a car’s body and surrounds the passenger compartment to protect occupants during a crash.
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All of our clients have families of their own. They are decent, hardworking people, and come to uswith complex business issues or because their lives have been changed by a catastrophic injury.
How Could a Manufacturer Be Liable in a Crashworthiness Case?
Despite the numerous tests and research to improve a vehicle’s crashworthiness, accidents still cause injuries and death. This is especially true if safety features don’t perform as they should. In this case, the vehicle manufacturer could be partially at fault for your accident. They might only be partially at fault because the defective safety feature likely wasn’t the direct cause of your accident.
However, the vehicle’s defect or design flaw could have made your accident much worse. For example, suppose a negligent driver ran a red light and T-boned your car. If your airbags failed to deploy during the accident, you could have suffered more severe injuries. In this case, you could recover compensation from the at-fault driver as well as the vehicle part manufacturer for installing defective airbags.
Other Car Defects Manufacturers Could Be Liable for
In addition to airbags and seatbelts, there are other defects that could have increased the severity of your accident, including the following:
- Seat Defects
- Tire Defects
- Fuel system defects
- Ignition switch failures
- Safety glass defects
Injured in a Car Crash? Contact Kemmy Law Firm
A car accident attorney at Kemmy Law Firm will personally investigate your case and gather the evidence needed to strengthen your claim. Your attorney must prove that the vehicle’s design or system failure increased the severity of your accident.
We’ll recruit the help of expert witnesses like accident reconstructionists to determine the cause of your accident and hold all liable parties accountable. Contact us today at (830) 264-6297 for a free consultation.
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When you work with us at Kemmy Law Firm, you are working with a family run firm with more than 50 years of combined experience. We are dedicated and successful trial attorneys practicing in West TX, Hobbs, NM, Midland-Odessa, and across the Permian Basin. Our team handles everything from catastrophic injury claims to complex business matters. We are here to fight for you. We dedicate our time and attention to your case and use every resource available to maximize your claim and obtain the best possible outcome.
