Auto Defects You Need to be Aware of- Keep Your Family Safe

Many car manufacturers pride themselves on the high level of safety their vehicles provide. However, many auto defects are directly responsible for injuries caused every single day. Some of the most common auto defects include: seat belts, structural supports, and airbags. Continue reading to learn more about these common defects.

Seat Belts

Seat belts are made to protect passengers. However, if they are defective they may cause injuries instead. Load limiters are devices installed within the seat belt system to minimize injury caused by seat belts. These load limiters release a small amount of extra belt when great force is applied to the belt in order to avoid a seat-belt related injury in a high-impact crash. When load limiters are defective they let out too much extra seat belt, oftentimes causing worse injuries.

Structural Supports

When companies test the safety features of a vehicle, they mainly focus on frontal crashes. This being said, impact to the front corners of the vehicle are often overlooked. Many vehicles are not designed to withstand a crash from every angle. When a vehicle is involved in an accident where the impact hits at one of the front corners, parts of the car (such as the wheel) are pushed into the space of the car’s occupants. This can lead to serious injury.

Air Bags

There are two types of air bag defects: failure to deploy and failure to install. When an air bag fails to deploy, it could be for a number of reasons. The air bag may not have been installed correctly, the air bag may have been poorly designed, or the air bag may simply have a manufacturing defect.

Failure to install an air bag means the company may offer the side air bag, but as a safety option rather than a standard feature. Due to this, many vehicles are sold without the additional air bag installation (perhaps without the customer’s knowledge).

If you suspect an auto defect exists in your vehicle or caused injury, you must preserve the vehicle until an appropriate expert can inspect, document and preserve any necessary parts needed to pursue your claim and to allow the manufacturer an opportunity to inspect the vehicle prior to repair.

If you think you may have a case, consult an attorney at O’Keeffe O’Brien Lyson Foss.

Image courtesy of Craig ONeal/Flickr