Seat Belt Defect Lawyers in Philadelphia
Philadelphia Attorneys Standing Up to Negligent Auto Manufacturers
In most serious car and trucking accidents, victims who wore seat belts emerge very grateful that they did. "Passenger restraint systems," along with airbags and other safety features, fill the all-important functional role of preventing driver and passenger ejection from the vehicle.
Unfortunately, however, we have successfully handled several personal injury cases involving seat belt failure or seat back collapse because the equipment was poorly designed or improperly manufactured for this critical purpose. If you or a family member has been seriously injured in a crash and you are questioning whether vehicle safety features performed properly, contact us, the proven automobile defects lawyers at Reiff & Bily.
Investigating Injury-Causing Problems With Restraint Systems
Of all the components of a passenger car or truck, we might expect that automakers would take the most care in testing seats and seat belts for performance, failure rates and crashworthiness. Yet wrongful deaths and catastrophic injuries occur every day due to problems such as:
- Seat backs that collapse upon impact, leading to crush injuries including paralysis and severe head trauma responsible for brain injuries — most commonly in rear-end collisions
- Shoulder harnesses and "three-point" safety belts that spool out or unlatch upon impact rather than keeping an accident victim secured from partial or total vehicle ejection and catastrophic impact inside the vehicle
- Lap belts that restrain only the lower torso — long known by automakers to provide far less protection than a properly designed three-point seat belt system
- Child car seats that lead to ejection or otherwise fail to protect the young occupant from serious injury
Targeting Monetary Compensation and Safety Improvements
As with other types of car and truck design defects, we know from extensive experience and research that auto manufacturers have been aware of seat belt failures and seat back shortcomings for decades. The reality is that saving innocent lives often takes a lower priority than making a change that might eat into profits.
We take great pride in our role and that of other dedicated personal injury and wrongful death lawyers in helping accident victims recover monetary compensation — and exposing seat belt failures and other defects in ways that compel these companies to make changes. For a free case evaluation by an attorney experienced in auto defects cases, please contact our Pennsylvania law firm.
