Seat Belt Failure and Spinal Cord Injury
When in proper working order, seat belts are the most important safety feature in an automobile. When this safety device fails, it can be your worst enemy instead of your best friend. Since laws are out in America now that require everyone in an automobile to wear a seat belt, a record number of Americans are buckling up. For the most part, we put trust in our seat belts not to fail us if we were to be in an accident. Unfortunately, there is a large number of vehicles on the road that have defective seat belts. Even more unfortunate, is that much of the auto industry has known about these defects for many years.
The point of a seat belt is to prevent a second collision from occurring. The first collision occurs when the vehicle hits another vehicle or object. Milliseconds later, the second collision occurs. This happens when the driver and/or passengers hit the interior of the car or are ejected from the vehicle. A seat belt was invented to keep the drivers and passengers from being ejected from the vehicle or making contact with the windshield, steering wheel or the roof. This, of course, would minimize injury by holding them in place.
Seat belt failure accidents happen because of many defects in the seat belt design. One of these failures is false latching. This occurs when the latch plate looks, feels and sometimes sounds like it is latched but it is not. The smallest amount of force will allow the seat belt latch to completely become released. This, of course, causes the passenger great injury in the case of an accident. Most victims of this malfunction are ejected from their vehicle.
Another type of defect that is common is torn webbing. This is when the seat belt is torn or ripped in half during a collision. Normally, the material and webbing on the belt is designed to withstand much force without tearing. Ripping of the belt usually occurs when there is a flaw in the webbing or materials.
The last most common type of seat belt defect is retractor failure. This happens when the retractor fails to lock on impact. This results in the person or persons being thrust forward and possibly impacting something in the interior of the car that could cause great injury to that person. Manufacturing and design defects would cause this to happen.
No matter what type of defect occurs, there is always risk for spinal injury or paralysis. For example, the seat on the center of the back seat offers only a lap belt without a shoulder belt. On impact, the passenger may be thrown over the seat belt, which could cause spine or internal injuries. Neck injuries or worst case, decapitation, may occur when there is a shoulder belt involved. Of course, many things can become worse after a spinal or neck injury. One example is hemiplegia. Hemiplegia can occur from a spinal cord injury and will paralyze or weaken one side of the body. Another example is probably the most common, paraplegia. This occurs after a spinal injury, when there is a complete loss of function in the lower half of your body. Quadriplegia is also a common result of a spinal cord injury. This results in total loss of function with everything below your neck.
When any of these types of injuries occur due to a defective seat belt, it is best that you contact a spinal cord injury lawyer. You may ask why you need to seek legal action. Those that are unfortunate to receive a spinal cord injury are often faced with continued medical care and personal assistance for the rest of their lives. This can get costly. Someone with partial paralysis due to a spinal cord injury may have over $100,000 in medical bills just in the first year. A quadriplegia would incur about $400,000. 42% of all spinal cord injuries occur in car accidents.
A qualified spinal cord lawyer will get you compensation for your medical expenses and any other expenses that are related to your injury such as spinal cord rehabilitation. If you are thinking about requesting compensation, be sure to keep all receipts of expenses that are related to your spinal injury. Also, keep up with all of your medical records. It helps your spinal cord lawyer to have these to base your case on.
Two types of spinal cord injury cases can be filed. One is personal injury, which is when the person who has received the injury files the suit. The other type is a wrongful death. This happens when the injured dies as a result of the accident and a family member files the suit. Compensation for wrongful death will help the family members cover lost wages, hospitalization and funeral expenses.
A spinal cord injury lawyer will guide you through the steps of getting what you deserve. There may be different rules on filing suits according to your state. Your lawyer will help you through this. Even if you are not ready to file a suit just yet, set up a consult with a spinal cord injury lawyer as soon as you are possibly able so you can know what your options are and the first steps that need to be made.
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