Vehicle Crashworthiness Lawyers

What are the criteria in determining the crashworthiness of a vehicle? 

Crashworthiness is the ability of a vehicle to prevent injuries to the occupants in the event of a collision. Crashworthiness deals primarily with the secondary collision in which the driver and passengers collide against the interior of the vehicle. The cause of the accident is usually considered irrelevant in crashworthiness cases.

Two important questions to consider when determining crashworthiness are:

• Could the vehicle occupants have fared better?
• Could some feature that was lacking in the vehicle have reduced the occupants' injuries?

Vehicle Defects

Crashworthiness cases typically involve injuries that are sustained as a result of a defect in a vehicle. There are three types of product defects that can lead to injury:

• Manufacturing defects—where injury occurs when there is a flaw in the manufacturing process. For example, failure to include an airbag when the design calls for it is a manufacturing defect.
• Design defects—where injury occurs when a vehicle is unsafe because of the manufacturer's design. For example, a fuel tank placed in a location that makes it likely to explode upon impact is a design defect.
• Failure to warn—where injury occurs when the manufacturer is aware of a dangerous aspect of a vehicle but fails to warn or provide adequate warning to consumers.

Our crashworthiness attorneys can help recover for you

Parties hurt in car accidents where the automobile manufacturer has failed to produce a crashworthy vehicle by selling vehicles with defective or failure-prone components should contact a skilled crashworthiness attorney to evaluate the situation and determine if a lawsuit can be brought against negligent manufacturers. The Hogan Law Office, PC has the kind of experience and proven results in crashworthiness cases that you need.

Hogan Law Office, PC forges new crashworthiness law in Alabama

One of our cases, General Motors v. Edwards, established Alabama’s law of automobile crashworthiness when a Chevette gas tank exploded in a rear impact collision. We successfully defended an appeal of a $4 million jury verdict.  Crashworthiness law was extended to boats by another of our cases, where it was contended that a pontoon boat should guard its propeller to protect swimmers.

Call us today to speak to a crashworthiness lawyer

If you were involved in an auto accident and incurred injuries due to the vehicle's lack of crashworthiness, please call the crashworthiness lawyers at Hogan Law Office, PC at 205-327-5235 for your free and confidential consultation today or click here to contact us online. Learn more about crashworthiness litigation.