Car Crashworthiness: Not All Vehicles Are Completely Safe

Jackson, MSWe expect that our vehicles are crashworthy and safe to drive. Unfortunately, vehicles are not always as safe as they seem. They may have defective parts or design flaws that make them dangerous and cause serious injury or death to vehicle occupants.

Following are lawsuits filed regarding the safety of vehicles. In some cases, the plaintiffs have suffered severe injuries. In others, the families of victims have filed lawsuits after a loved one died in a car accident. All lawsuits allege the vehicle was in some way defective, which decreased its safety.

The family of a woman who was ejected from a General Motors vehicle during a car accident has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the carmaker. The victim was a passenger in a 1995 GMC Suburban when it was involved in a single-vehicle accident in 2002. The plaintiffs allege a defective interior compartment switch unlocked the vehicle's doors when it was hit by moving luggage, allowing the woman to be ejected from the vehicle.

Last month, General Motors was hit with four lawsuits that alleged the company's vehicles were not "reasonably crashworthy" and were "unreasonably defective." The plaintiffs all claim they were wearing their seatbelts at the time of the accident. The lawsuits argue the vehicles had defects with the door structure, structural integrity, roof structure, and restraint system.

A California judge ordered Bentley to repurchase a defective Bentley Arnage from its owner. The owner took the car to Bentley for repairs seven times because the airbag light repeatedly illuminated. Each time the car was taken in Bentley tried to make a repair but the light always came back on. The airbag light is an indication that the airbag will not deploy properly or will deploy at inappropriate times, thereby putting people's lives in danger.

Ford Motor Co. faces a class action lawsuit that alleges the auto company knew that 1990s Explorers had a tendency to rollover but continued with production despite that knowledge. Plaintiffs' lawyers are asking Ford to pay back the over two billion dollars in profit it made from sales of the Explorer in California. The class action covers people who purchased Explorers with model years 1991-2001 and who owned their vehicles as of August 9, 2000.

Another lawsuit has also been filed against Ford, alleging the company knew about the Explorer's tendency to rollover. This lawsuit was filed by the sons of a Tongan prince who was killed in a car accident near San Francisco. The suit alleges the unsafe design of the Explorer was primarily responsible for the deaths of the prince, his wife and their driver.

In August 2007, Ford settled a lawsuit filed by a man who was paralyzed when the Ford Aerostar he was a passenger in rolled over and the roof caved in. The plaintiff had been wearing his seatbelt at the time of the accident. The suit alleged Ford knew that the Aerostar had a tendency to rollover after tire blowouts but continued manufacturing the Aerostar. Ford specialists testified that Ford knew people taller than a certain height were at risk for neck injuries in the case of a truck or van rollover.

It is the responsibility of vehicle manufacturers to ensure their automobiles are safe for consumer use and are crashworthy. If you or a loved one has been injured in a vehicle that was not crashworthy, contact a lawyer to discuss your options.