Car accidents are the leading cause of death for Americans aged 5-34 years old and every year, around 40,000 die and 270,000 persons are hospitalized because of motor vehicle accident injuries.
One of the ways to prevent injuries or death even in the event of a car accident is for passengers to utilize the vehicle’s occupant protection systems. Occupant protection systems are the built-in safety features of a vehicle that can either be “active” because it is required to be used in order to be effective (i.e. seatbelt) or “passive” such as airbags which would only deploy in the crash itself.
Occupant protection systems often mark the difference between a passenger’s survival or death so aside from being utilized, it is important for it to have no defects. Below is a list of the essential passenger safety systems and product defects you should look out for:
Seatbelts – Seatbelt use is the oldest form of passenger safety protection and has saved more than 13,000 lives in 2008. 30 U.S. states including Guam have enacted primary seatbelt use laws which means all passengers and drivers in a motor vehicle are mandated to wear a seatbelt.
However, there are instances when seatbelt use can lead to injuries. A seatbelt (which often is installed during the manufacturing process) may be considered dangerous defective under the following circumstances:
• Spontaneous unlatching
• Ripped webbing
• Failure to lock
Airbags - These are cushions built into a vehicle that are intended to inflate in case of a car accident in order to protect occupants from injuries by preventing them from striking the interior of vehicle or getting ejected.
Although the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has reported that more than 28,000 people are alive because of frontal airbags, there are instances of unintended adverse effects which can result to injury or death for the occupants and some of these are:
• Unintended inflation
• Failure to deploy during a collision
• Explosion
Child Safety Restraints - It is estimated by the NHTSA that as much as 8,959 children were saved from 1957-2008 through the use of child safety restraints. Although most states have child passenger safety laws, a huge problem for this is the fact that most child safety seats are improperly used. Child safety seats are age-appropriate so even if it’s being used, it may not be enough to protect a child who has already outgrown it.
When buying child safety seats, check for recalls or hidden cracks or damage. Be wary of using pre-owned child safety seat or a hand me down because these may be worn out or have been damaged in a crash.
If any of these occupant protection systems fail because of a product defect, do not hesitate to seek the advice of a product liability attorney in California. You have the right to recover compensation from the manufacturer of any of these passenger safety tools especially if the defects caused or aggravated the injury in an accident.
