Dangerous vehicles as a cause of injuries and fatalities

Dangerous cars

Some fatalities in car collisions are caused, and injuries are made more severe, by failures in the vehicle’s design. Neglectful installation of equipment can also be lethal. Casey Gerry's San Diego auto accident attorneys have dealt with many such cases.

Casey Gerry's San Diego auto accident lawyers recently brought an action against KIA Motors Corporation for a crash in which both seats and seatbelts failed in a KIA vehicle, causing the deaths of two young people. The KIA vehicle, driven on I-8, was hit a glancing blow in the rear end by a tractor trailer. Although the vehicles’ speeds and the force of the impact were relatively mild, the seats in the Kia Vehicle buckled and collapsed backward. The collapse of the driver’s seat caused him to fall backward, losing contact with the pedals and the steering wheel. Out of control, the vehicle lurched to the shoulder and then rolled over. The KIA’s seatbelts were constructed in a design known for over 15 years to be dangerous, and at impact they tore from their mounts. Without seatbelts restraining them, the young couple were both partially ejected during the rollover, and died from injuries suffered on impact. Their deaths were a direct result of the defective vehicle occupant protection system.

Casey Gerry auto accident attorneys were able to show in KIA’s own documents that they had violated their own internal standards. We have found that very often manufacturers will establish a sufficiently high standard of safety for themselves, but then fail to meet it, resulting in serious injury or death to users of the vehicles. The families of the victims received substantial compensation for their losses.

Casey Gerry represented three adult children in an action against Sears for the death of their mother caused by the defective installation of a tire. Two sisters, their husbands and children, and their mother were traveling when the left rear tire of the vehicle blew out. The car veered into the median, and then rolled over. The grandmother was thrown from the car, and suffered injuries which caused her death. Two young children were also thrown from the vehicle and sustained significant injuries, additionally suffering post traumatic stress disorder from seeing their grandmother killed.

Four new tires had been purchased and installed at Sears less than two weeks before the accident. Casey Gerry’s tire expert determined that although the tire was sound when sold, a careless installation caused a large cut in the tire carcass. When the family’s vehicle left the installation bay it was a disaster waiting to happen. As the vehicle was traveling at highway speed, the cut spread, the tire tore away from the rim and deflated instantaneously. Casey Gerry’s auto accident lawyer in San Diego established that the installer had twice before cut a tire while installing it, that Sears was aware of this, and had continued to allow him to work. The settlement took into account the children’s injuries, and the family’s loss of a dear and valued mother and grandmother.

In a situation where a product that did not meet generally accepted standards of safety design, or a product that was manufactured or installed negligently has contributed to serious injury or death, you may want to consult a plaintiff’s law firm experienced in such matters.