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

On June 2, 2008, after many years of prodding by consumer advocacy groups and attorneys, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) issued a consumer advisory concerning aging tires. This follows numerous lawsuits involving Explorer/Firestone rollovers, which made the public aware of the potential dangers of tire aging. Additional industry documents and studies have made clear that tires more than six years old are hazardous to drivers, and can result in tread separations, crashes and rollovers.

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As we have been reporting, according to the Associated Press, on October 20, 2008, 1.6 million cribs were recalled after the death of two eight-month-old infants. The infants became stuck in the gaps of the cribs, resulting in them both suffocating.  In Delta Enterprise Cribs, if safety pegs are not installed or fail to engage, the drop-side separates, resulting in a gap in which babies can get stuck.

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If you own a 1998 to 2003 Mercedes M-Class SUV, you will soon receive a notice from Mercedes-Benz notifying you of a recall. According to Reuters, The German automaker is recalling nearly 103,000 vehicles because of a defect that can cause the loss of power steering and could result in a crash.

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CNNMoney.com reported today that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has issued a second warning to owners of selected Ford, Lincoln and Mercury SUVs, pickups, vans and passenger cars to take their vehicles to a local dealership for a cruise control switch repair. The switch, if defective, could lead to a fire at any time, even if the cruise control switch is not in use or the vehicle is turned off, parked and unattended.

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A recent report by ConsumerAffairs.com, a web site that provides information including consumer news, recalls, and scam alerts, warns motorists of several dangerous problems associated with the popular Toyota Prius hybrid automobile that could result in serious injury. The most dangerous complaints submitted to the watchdog web site about the vehicle include unintended acceleration, poor or non-existent traction control, and unusual tire wear.

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Tire blowouts can lead to loss of control of a vehicle, resulting in serious injuries

Tire failures, blowouts and detreads are foreseeable and preventable events. Manufacturers know that tire treads will wear with proper use and at some point fail if not serviced properly and replaced after their intended period of use has expired.

tire valve stem recall

Tech International recently (May 13, 2008) recalled certain replacement snap-in tire valve stems, model no. Tr413, manufactured between July and November 2006. The rubber portion of the valve stem may crack causing loss of tire pressure.

Continuing to drive on under-inflated tires could damage the tire, possibly resulting in loss of control.

Tech International has agreed to replace the valve stems or a damaged tire, if the damage was due to a defective tire valve.

Owners are advised to contact Tech International at 1-740-967-9015.

Tire tread separation

Tire tread separation can be caused by bonding problems in the tire manufacturing process, contaminants introduced into the tire during the tire making process, under-vulcanization, old ingredients, improper sized components, or something as simple as air being trapped in between the layers of the tire during manufacturing. Detreading of these defective tires can result in single or multi vehicle accidents, or even rollovers. Even the auto manufacturers agree that drivers should be able to pullover, not rollover when a tire detreads. That is unfortunately not always the case.

Do you have a tire blowout claim?

There may be a tire defect claim if an accident was caused by the failure of a tire, leading to loss of control of the vehicle.

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

Please contact our tire blowout 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.

the seat belt is intended to minimize the injuries and damage caused in an accident

Seat belt injuries often occur when there is a seat belt design, production, or installation defect. There are a plethora of injuries that may occur as a result of a defective seat belt or from failure of a seat belt: spinal cord injury, brain or head injury, paralysis, internal injuries, amputations, broken bones, concussions and fatalities.

According to the Center for Auto Safety, from January 2000 through November 2006 there have been 180 safety recalls involving seat belts that don’t work properly in both passenger and commercial vehicles. These involve everything from belt webbing that could be cut by another part rubbing against it, to buckles that seem to latch but don’t, to shoulder belts that might not retract.

There are believed to be two collisions in an auto accident. The first collision is the vehicle’s impact with another vehicle or object. The second collision is the passenger’s impact with the interior of the vehicle, or in cases of ejection, impact outside the vehicle. Seat belt injuries can occur when a defective seat belt fails to adequately protect a vehicle passenger in the “second collision” phase of an automobile accident.

lap belt only seat belt injuries

In a lap belt only seat belt design, often found in the rear center seating position, occupants may jack-knife over the seat belt, receiving injuries in the process. The seat belt itself can cause spine or internal injuries when the occupant’s body bends over the seat belt webbing which then cuts into the soft tissue. Also, when the occupant’s body juts forward, head injuries can result when the head hits a seat back or a support pillar in the vehicle.

shoulder belt only seat belt injuries

With a shoulder belt only design, often seen in Hyundai or Volkswagen vehicles, occupants may submarine under the belt, causing neck injuries and sometimes decapitation.

passive restraint system injuries

Passive restraint systems lull the occupant into a false feeling of safety when the shoulder belt slides around them. Passive restraint systems consist of a manual lap belt and a motorized shoulder belt, or are simply a door mounted three point system.

For the first type, the manual belt combination, occupants often forget to latch the manual belt, creating a “shoulder belt only” system. Thus, much like the Hyundai and Volkswagen vehicles mentioned above, occupants may submarine under the belt. In the second type, the door mounted three point system, if the door opens during an accident, the occupant can be ejected, often suffering horrific injuries or death.

defective seat belt geometry design

Small stature persons are particularly susceptible to these types of injuries. The D-ring or shoulder strap anchor is typically placed in a position that is too high for a small stature person. As a result, the shoulder strap rides too high up on the occupants’ neck and causes severe spinal injuries in a collision. Auto manufacturers have been aware of this seat belt geometry defect for some time.

Some of our clients have suffered catastrophic spinal cord injuries as a result of defective seat belt geometry design.

defective latching mechanisms

A seat belt must not only be designed and mounted properly, but must latch properly and stay latched to provide maximum protection. Seat belt latching defects leave the occupant open for the possibility of being unrestrained in an accident.

Inertial unlatching occurs when a seat belt buckle releases by itself during a collision.

Inadvertent unlatching happens when the buckle opens as a result of some inadvertent contact by either the occupant or a component of the vehicle. Often a hand or arm contacts the release button causing an inadvertent unlatching.

Possibly the scariest of all seat belt buckle defects is false latching. This occurs when the buckle appears to be latched, sounds like it is latched and looks like it is latched, but is not actually properly or fully engaged. In this situation, forces during the accident can cause the buckle to unlatch. We recently dealt with this issue in a case against a trucking manufacturer and a seat belt manufacturer where the decedent was killed after he was ejected from the vehicle.

other common seat belt defects

There are several other possible defects that can occur with seat belts:

• the seat belt webbing can fail because of a defect within the webbing itself, or from a sharp item on the seat frame contacting the webbing during the collision;
• the retractor can fail to lock properly in an accident and cause an injury by allowing excess webbing to extend;
• a seat belt pretensioner, a device that removes excess slack from the seat belt webbing, could be missing from the design of the particular belt.

NOTE: You should not rely on the accident report alone to determine if there is a seat belt defect. Often Police Officers will say that there was no belt use if the occupant has been ejected or is not wearing the belt when the Officers arrive on the scene. As stated previously, an occupant can submarine under a belt, the belt may unlatch on its own from inertia, or a first responder may have unlatched the occupant to administer lifesaving medical treatment. In short, don’t rely on the accident report alone to determine if there is a seat belt defect case.

signs of potential seat belt failure

Some of the most common signs of a potential seat belt failure or defect are:

• An occupant who was believed to have been belted is found unbelted after the accident;
• A belted occupant makes contact with the vehicle interior, resulting in injury;
• The occupant is ejected outside the vehicle or outside the restraint of the seat belt, but the seat belt buckle is latched;
• The webbing of the seat belt is loose after the accident;
• The webbing of the seat belt is torn;
• The door mounted seat belts in the vehicle were ineffective when the door of the vehicle opened;
• The seat belt is only a lap belt or shoulder belt;
• The vehicle occupant compartment is intact and a belted occupant is injured;
• The seat belt mounts came loose from the floor or vehicle pillars during the accident.

Do you have a seat belt failure claim?

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

Please contact our seat belt failure 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.

A deadly rollover auto crash in Florida prompted a federal investigation and recall of 6 million tire valve stems after investigators alleged the accident was caused by a cracked stem, according to a report published in Lawyers USA. The recalled product was manufactured in China by Shanghai Baolong Automotive Corp. between July 2006 and November 2006. There could be as many as 36 million of the potentially defective stems currently in use on a variety of automobiles.

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After suffering months of excruciating pain following surgery, a Virginia Beach, Va., woman learned yesterday that a recalled mesh patch had been used by the hospital where she underwent a hernia operation nearly a year ago. The Kugel Mesh patch, made by Davol Incorporated, was recalled by the FDA because it breaks up after insertion in patients, which can result in serious injury.

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