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

Following on the heels of an announcement this week recalling nearly 1 million cribs manufactured by Delta Enterprise Corp., the Consumer Product Safety Commission reports its Early Warning System, created in Fall 2007, is working to warn consumers of concerns with the durability of cribs. The agency says since the Early Warning Sytem was implemented, it has conducted five crib recalls where “hardware was broken, missing or otherwise failed to function.”

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The United States Senate is looking into establishing a sweeping bus safety bill due to the amount of Americans who die each year on buses according to the Washington Post. Buses are no longer considered safe because if a bus rolls over, the outcome is usually injury or death of passengers. If a bus is broad-sided, the frame of the bus will twist, resulting in the bus’s windows popping or the passengers being thrown out of the bus.

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I’ve heard of the expression of someone not being able to walk and chew gum at the same time, but apparently the newest reality involves the ability to walk and text at the same time. A recent study reveals a growing incidence of injuries, some severe, and even death, as a result of text messaging. Walking, riding a bike, driving or even rollerblading, all while trying to send text messages, is hazardous to your health.

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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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Single vehicle accidents may be the result of a design defect or mechanical problems

In investigating automobile accidents and product liability cases over the past 30 years, we have seen a great number of single vehicle accidents that were caused by a design defect or mechanical problem. Single vehicle accidents where the occupant received injuries disproportionate to the severity of the accident can often be traced back to a defect.

On average, over 80 percent of the product liability claims we investigate are single vehicle accidents.

If there is any possibility of a product liability claim, preservation of the vehicle, tire, tire treads and other crucial evidence must be preserved. Often, this evidence is critical to the success of a product liability lawsuit.

If the chain of custody is not properly documented, or the vehicle or tire is inadvertently destroyed before it can be evaluated by experts, crucial evidence is lost.

Do you have a product liability claim?

If your loved one has suffered a serious injury or death as a result of a single vehicle accident which may have been caused by a product defect, you may be entitled to compensation for medical expenses, loss of wages, and pain and suffering.

Please contact our product liability 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 a seat back is reclined, the seat belt becomes much less effective, if not completely useless

Take a minute and think how many times you have been a passenger in a car, wearing your seat belt, and decided to lay your seat back to take a nap. This is a very common practice. However, by simply reclining your seat, you are putting your life at risk.

When a seat back is reclined, the standard seat belt becomes much less effective, if not completely useless, because the shoulder harness of the belt moves away from the body. People do not realize or understand that the more space between the seat belt and a person’s body, the greater risk of death or serious injury in an accident. The seat belt is designed to be worn snugly against the body in order to couple the body to the seat to ride down the forces of an accident safely.

Automobile manufacturers have been well aware of the dangers of reclining seats for nearly four decades. They know that three-point restraints offer good protection only if worn properly. An occupant who wears a seat belt while his seat is reclined is not centered in the belt, rendering the belt ineffective for spreading crash forces over the body. Protection offered by any type of seat belt is therefore compromised when the seat is reclined, presenting a potentially dangerous combination in a moving vehicle. Although some vehicle owner’s manuals warn of the dangers of reclined seat backs in moving vehicles, the warnings do not state specifically what degree of recline is dangerous.

recent seat back lawsuits

A Jacksonville, Florida jury recognized this hidden danger and held Ford accountable by awarding $16.9 million to a young college student who was rendered a paraplegic in an accident. The student was a belted passenger who had reclined her seat back in a Ford Windstar. During the trip, the Windstar was involved in a low impact collision. Because the seat was reclined, her seat belt did not hold her in place. As a result, this young college student was rendered a paraplegic in what was a very minor accident.

Another jury in Maryland awarded $59 million to a belted passenger in a Toyota vehicle who was also riding with his seat reclined. The car was involved in a frontal collision. During the collision, the belted passenger flew forward at the time of the impact. It resulted in the amputation of both of the passenger’s legs. Both of these cases spotlight this dangerous practice that automobile manufacturers have known about for decades.

dangers of reclining seat backs

People are being needlessly injured and killed as a result of the automobile industry’s inaction on this subject. The industry knows that the motoring public does not understand or recognize the danger of reclining the seat while the vehicle is in motion. The industry knows that millions of families drive many millions of miles on the road every year. The industry also knows that some occupants in its vehicles will recline their seats to take naps, and by doing so, those occupants are all at great risk of serious injury or death in an accident.

Yet, the automobile manufacturers turn a blind eye to this danger even though there are simple approaches they could take to educate the public and prevent such needless injuries and deaths each year.

Do you have a reclining seat back claim?

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

Please contact our product liability 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.

under ride protection and cab guards are important safety devices intended to minimize injury in a collision

Under ride protection and cab guards are critical safety devices that are intended to minimize injury in the event of a collision. Unfortunately, a defect in design or materials can create a very dangerous situation.

Beasley Allen recently worked on a case in which three family members riding together in a Cadillac Escalade were killed when their vehicle struck a Nissan TX UD-1800 rollback wrecker vehicle that was jutting into a busy highway. Two other passengers in the vehicle were seriously injured.

Upon investigation, it was determined that the wrecker was not equipped with any under ride protection or guards, which would have helped rotate the Escalade away from the rollback in the event of a crash.

The parties eventually agreed to settle their claims, the terms of the settlement were confidential.

under ride protection defects

An under ride protection device extends below the trailer in order to prevent an automobile from riding under the trailer in the event of a rear impact.

Many heavy trucks and/or trailers are defectively designed in that the vehicles do not have proper under ride protection devices. When a vehicle is allowed to under ride a heavy truck trailer, it often results in severe injuries to vehicle occupants since passenger cars are substantially lower than the bed of heavy truck trailers.

When appropriate under ride guards are in place, vehicles are prevented from under riding these trailers and severe injuries that occur in foreseeable rear end collisions are substantially reduced.

cab guard defects

Cab guards or “headache racks” are required as front-end structures on 18-wheelers that pull flat beds, trailers and log trailers and should function to prevent shifting cargo from contacting the cab of heavy trucks.

Many cab guards are designed of welded heat treated aluminum which results in a weakening of the cab guard over time. The weakening of the cab guard due to fatigue stress is relatively unknown to drivers.

Our research has shown that many welding requirements established by national organizations are not followed by cab guard manufacturers. The failure to follow such guidelines may result in poor welds, poor quality control, and poorly designed cab guards. These cab guard defects undermine the intended purpose of protecting truck occupants in an accident.

Do you have a under ride protection or cab guard defect claim?

If your loved one has suffered a serious injury or death as a result of an under ride protection or cab guard defect injury, you may be entitled to compensation for medical expenses, loss of wages, and pain and suffering.

Please contact our under ride protection 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.

while intended to help prevent injuries in an accident, airbag defects may actually cause severe injuries

Obviously, if an airbag fails to deploy, there may be an airbag claim.

However, there may be other types of airbag claims.

aggressive airbags

Aggressive airbags which deploy at excessive speeds can cause head or neck injuries or other broken bones. Children are especially susceptible to injuries and or death caused by an airbag. They should always been seated upright and as far away from an airbag as possible.

late deploying airbags

Late deploying airbags can fail to protect an occupant from contact with the interior of the vehicle, thus causing injuries that could have been avoided.

low deployment threshold

Airbags with a low deployment threshold can deploy at inopportune times in low speed impacts. These are often collisions that would have been injury free, if not for the airbag impacting the occupant.

airbag claims

There may be an airbag case if any of these factors apply:

• The airbag deployed in a collision which was slower than 10 miles an hour;
• The airbag failed to deploy and there is obvious damage to the front bumper;
• The airbag deployed late;
• The occupant is severely injured in spite of, or because of the airbag deployment.

Do you have an airbag claim?

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

Please contact our airbag defect 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.

fuel tank design and placement is very important to minimize injuries during accidents

Almost everyone remembers the infamous Ford Pinto. The Pinto had a fuel tank mounted behind the rear axle. This position allowed for dangerous, and often explosive consequences in rear impact accidents.

Similarly, there are vehicles with gas tanks mounted on the sides of the vehicle outside the structure of the frame. These “sidesaddle” tanks also leave the vehicle vulnerable to impact in a collision. The overall safest positioning of a gas tank is between the front and rear axles of the vehicle. However, manufacturers didn’t always follow this guideline and many vehicles do not provide the proper structural protection for the tank. Collisions with these vehicles can lead to fuel-fed fires.

Also, it is not always the location of the fuel tanks that can lead to fuel fed fires. Design defects related to fuel fed fires can involve several different vehicle systems. The design issues can relate to issues of fuel filler cap design, fuel line design, fuel tank design, and also include fuel pump design. Fuel systems should be designed to maintain their integrity during reasonably foreseeable accidents so that occupants do not lose their lives in otherwise survivable accidents. If the occupants can survive crash forces without serious injury, so should the fuel system.

Simple shielding of the gas tank, known to the automobile manufacturing industry for years, can prevent fuel fed fires.

Do you have a fuel-fed fire claim?

There may be a fuel fed fire claim if the occupant was killed or seriously injured by the fire and would have otherwise been expected to escape the accident with minor injuries.

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

Please contact our fuel fed fire 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.

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.