Single-vehicle accidents like rollovers can be devastating for motorists. These crashes are even more severe when vehicles’ roofs collapse under their own weight of the car, truck, or SUV is upended.
Many victims of crushed roof accidents mistakenly believe that they have no legal options available after these crashes. However, roofs often collapse because of faulty design, manufacturing, or installation, in which case, injured victims have every right to pursue compensation for their injuries.
Defective or Faulty Vehicle Roofs Pose Serious Threats to Motorists
Safety advocates often make the case that vehicle manufacturers fall short when it comes to designing and building safe roofs on their automobiles. A 2008 Insurance Institute for Highway Safety report even suggested that over 200 rollover crash deaths in a single year could have been avoided if SUV manufacturers had better designed and constructed their roofs.
It’s crucial that vehicles are built to withstand as much damage as possible in this type of crash. Though rollovers aren’t the most common type of vehicle accident, they’re one of the deadliest.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, rollover crashes make up approximately one-fifth of all fatal crashes and nearly one-third of all traffic deaths. These crashes also result in the most serious injuries imaginable, including traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord damage, compound fractures, and paralysis, to name just a few.
How to Determine If a Roof Is Poorly Built
When looking for safety problems in vehicles, automobile owners can enter their vehicle’s identification number (VIN) in the NHTSA database. Unfortunately, this will only alert consumers about recalled parts, which only constitute some of the dangerous vehicles and vehicle parts on the market.
In many cases, it’s only after many instances of injury or death that vehicles are recalled. Recalls are of little comfort to someone who has already been seriously injured in a crash or lost a loved one in an accident.
For those injured in crashes, it’s worth speaking to an experienced product liability lawyer if a defective vehicle or vehicle component is suspected. Attorneys often know whether certain vehicle parts are likely to be responsible for a motorist’s injuries, and they can investigate the crash to determine the possible legal options available to their clients.
Why Take Legal Action Against a Manufacturer After a Rollover Accident?
No crash victim should have to pay the costs of their injuries if they were caused by someone else. When manufacturers are responsible for serious injuries, they can be held accountable for the financial costs through product liability claims.
By filing a product liability claim, the injured party can seek compensation for the many injury-related costs they face, including:
- Medical expenses
- Lost income
- Pain and suffering
- Property damage
If you believe that your injuries are the fault of a vehicle manufacturer or vehicle component manufacturer, don’t hesitate to contact a lawyer to discuss your legal options.
Our Product Liability Lawyers Can Help
At Fieger Law, our Detroit product liability attorneys offer free consultations. We’ll discuss the details of your case and help you better understand whether you have a case against a vehicle manufacturer.
Contact Fieger Law today to schedule your free case assessment. We offer our clients a promise—we don’t get paid if we don’t win you compensation.