Beasley, Allen, Crow, Methvin, Portis & Miles, P.C.

So how much do you think your life is worth? $100M? $20M? $420? According to a 1973 General Motors memo, the value of your life is $200,000. Evidently, GM saved over $250M by letting a few hundred people burn to death in their cars.

For nearly 30 years, automobile manufacturers have skirted the issue of fundamental design flaws that make cars prone to catch fire when involved in a crash. Engineers know how to relocate fuel tanks to make them less likely to leak or suffer punctures, but manufacturers have never been held responsible for ensuring their vehicles are safe.

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the roof is an important structural component of a vehicle and is critical in keeping the occupant safe

To protect occupants in a rollover, maintaining survival space is very important. Survival space is the area around an occupant that remains free of intrusion in an accident. It is the area in which an occupant is able to “survive” the crash. The roof is part of the structural support of a vehicle and is therefore a critical component in keeping the occupant safe.

If a roof crushes substantially during an accident, from a failure of the side rails, headers or support pillars, catastrophic injuries can occur. Often, this decreased survival space results in the occupant’s head impacting some portion of the vehicle causing death, paralysis or brain damage. Sometimes, the occupant can even be partially ejected through an opening created during roof crush.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has proposed an upgrade Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 216 (FMVSS 216) would require that a roof withstand an applied force equal to 2.5 times the vehicle’s weight while maintaining sufficient headroom for an average size adult male. The current standard is 1.5 times the vehicle’s weight. Consumer groups, led by the People Safe in Rollovers Foundation, call for an even stronger standard of at least 3.5 times the vehicle’s weight.

The new standard also would for the first time extend roof strength standards to vehicles with gross weight ratings up to 10,000 pounds. The current standard applies only to vehicles with ratings up to 6,000 pounds, which means about 44 percent of the SUV and pickup fleets currently are exempt.

legal precedent

On September 30, 2003, a Nebraska jury awarded approximately $19.5 million to Penny Shipler, a 36-year-old mother left paralyzed from the neck down in a 1997 accident. She was a passenger in a 1996 Chevrolet Blazer when the vehicle was involved in an accident and rolled over. The roof crushed on Ms. Shipler causing her to suffer a complete spinal cord injury.

General Motors ignored the problem

GM has known for many years that their roofs are too weak. Instead of making the roofs stronger, it relies on inadequate government standards that fail to require manufacturers to conduct dynamic rollover tests on their roofs. GM has failed to build its vehicles with sturdier roofs, and, as a result, people like Ms. Shipler continue to be severely injured or killed. What happened to her was foreseeable and certainly could have been avoided.

There may be a roof crush lawsuit if the roof has deformed or crushed or opened over the occupant’s head by deforming sideways.

Do you have a roof crush claim?

If your loved one has suffered a serious injury or death as a result of roof crush injury, you may be entitled to compensation for medical expenses, loss of wages, and pain and suffering.

Please contact our roof crush lawyers today by filling out the brief questionnaire, or by calling our toll free number (1-800-898-2034) for a free, no-cost, no-obligation legal evaluation of your case.

when considering a Personal injury or Product liability attorney, experience and a proven track record are critical to a successful case

Beasley Allen has acquired the reputation of being one of the most successful personal injury and product liability law firms in the country. Our personal injury and product liability attorneys have built a reputation working on these types of cases. Our attorneys work closely with our support staff to provide thorough evaluations and research for each case.

personal injury experience

Some of our landmark personal injury lawsuits include a $11.75 million verdict involving the release of a prisoner who injured the plaintiff, $15 million verdict against a bar in a dram shop case, $4.2 million verdict dealing with a person falling through a skylight and a $7 million verdict involving a nursing home case.

product liability experience

Among our most important product liability lawsuits are a $150 million verdict involving a defective door latch on a major auto manufacturers SUV, $122 million verdict involving General Motors, $114.5 million verdict in an electrocution case, and a $26 million verdict involving a back up alarm system.

Do you have an injury or product liability claim?

If your loved one has suffered a serious injury or death as a result of personal injury or product liability injury, you may be entitled to compensation for medical expenses, loss of wages, and pain and suffering.

Please contact our experienced lawyers today by filling out the brief questionnaire, or by calling our toll free number (1-800-898-2034) for a free, no-cost, no-obligation legal evaluation of your case.