Crashworthiness Claims

A defective vehicle component that is a factor in an accident can lead to a product liability claim. In fact, many product liability cases arise from what are known as crashworthiness claims.

“Crashworthiness” is an aspect of vehicle safety that is linked to protecting occupants of a car in the event of an auto accident. Crashworthiness features include seat belts and airbags as well as roll bars, side impact bars, and “crumple zones.”

When one of these design elements fails during a crash, an injured victim or his or her family may have grounds for a crashworthiness lawsuit or a product liability claim.

There may also be factors in crash safety that relate to elements within the car that are not considered safety equipment. For example, parts of the interior may come loose and strike a passenger inside the car.

When part of the vehicle’s safety equipment fails to function in a crash-such as the seat belts, airbag, or built-in child safety, seat-having service records available to determine that these parts were not compromised during maintenance can be valuable to support your claim.

The following are scenarios that may lead to a crashworthiness claim:

• The roof of the vehicle caves in during a roll-over accident
• Passenger is ejected from vehicle due to poorly anchored seatbelt
• Faulty airbags