Fort Lauderdale Crashworthiness Attorney

Contact this Fort Lauderdale Crashworthiness Lawyer if you’ve been injured in a vehicle accident and you believe the vehicle might have been at least partially at-fault. Vehicles are supposed to be designed and manufactured to be “crashworthy.” A vehicle that is crashworthy is able to withstand accidents and protect its inhabitants from injury.

Vehicle designers and manufacturers are obligated to make their vehicles crashworthy. After all, designers and manufacturers know that their vehicles will inevitably be involved in crashes. Vehicle wrecks happen all over the place every day. When a vehicle designer or manufacturer puts one of its vehicles into the “stream of commerce,” it should know that there is a high likelihood that, someday, that vehicle will be involved in an accident. Therefore, the vehicle designer or manufacturer is responsible for making that vehicle crashworthy.

If a vehicle designer or manufacturer doesn’t make its vehicle crashworthy, then it will be responsible for any collisions or injuries caused. Should you be injured in a vehicle that wasn’t safe anyplace in Florida (including West Palm Beach, Palm Beach County, Miami, and Miami-Dade County), call Mr. Quackenbush at 954-448-7288. This Fort Lauderdale Crashworthiness Law Firm will be by your side each step of the way. Call Mr. Quackenbush today to discuss your case for free.

There are many ways in which a vehicle can be “un-crashworthy.” For example, a vehicle may be prone to “roof crush.” That is, in a “roll-over” accident, a vehicle’s roof/ceiling is supposed to withstand the impact and not “crush” or cave-in on the vehicle occupants. After all, if the roof does crush, then it may cause severe head and neck injuries for vehicle occupants. If this occurs, then the vehicle will be said to be un-crashworthy, and the vehicle designer and manufacturer may be liable.

Vehicle “cabins” (the part of a vehicle that carries occupants/passengers) is also supposed to be designed/manufactured to be safe. While the rest of the vehicle (including the back or front) may “crumple” in an accident, vehicle cabins are not supposed to do so. If your vehicle’s cab crumpled in your accident, then you may have a case against the designer or manufacturer of your vehicle.

Additionally, a vehicle should have properly operating seatbelts and airbags to protect vehicle occupants during an accident. If a seat-belt doesn’t hold an occupant in-place during a crash, then the vehicle will be said to be un-crashworthy. If the airbags don’t properly deploy (or they do deploy and cause injuries), then again the vehicle will be said to be un-crashworthy. In both scenarios, the designer or manufacturer of the vehicle will be responsible for any injuries caused.

Sometimes, vehicle seat-backs will fail and fall backwards, allowing a vehicle occupant to become loose from his or her seat and potentially be ejected out of the back of the vehicle. If this occurs, then again the vehicle will be said to be un-crashworthy, and the vehicle designer or manufacturer will be responsible.

Whether it’s the designer or manufacturer who’s liable in a vehicle crashworthiness case is an interesting question. Usually the answer is that it will be the designer who will be responsible if it can be shown that the design of the vehicle was itself un-crashworthy/unsafe. On the other hand, if the un-crashworthiness was caused by a problem in the manufacturing/a defect, then the manufacturer will be liable.

Further, the manufacturer will typically only be liable if the vehicle was in the same condition at the time of the accident as when the vehicle left the manufacturer’s hands. That is, if the vehicle was changed after it left the manufacturer’s hands in a way that made it un-crashworthy, then it may be the entity that made the change that will be responsible. This could be the vehicle distributor, dealership, mechanic, repair shop, etc.

Call 954-448-7288 to speak to Mr. Quackenbush today if you’ve been hurt anywhere in Broward County (including Coconut Creek, Cooper City, Coral Springs, Dania Beach, Davie, Deerfield Beach, Hallandale Beach, Hollywood, Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, Lauderdale Lakes, Lauderhill, Lighthouse Point, Margate, Miramar, North Lauderdale, Oakland Park, Parkland, Pembroke Pines, Plantation, Pompano Beach, Southwest Ranches, Sunrise, Tamarac, West Park, Weston and Wilton Manors). Mr. Quackenbush won’t charge you a dime to discuss your case.