Defective Seat Belt Lawsuit 2024 | How to Sue for a Seat Belt Injury
If you are injured in a car accident due to a seat belt failure, you may be able to file a defective seat belt lawsuit. You can sue the manufacturer or automaker, even if your insurance already covered some costs of the accident.
How to prove defects in the seat belt of your car
Nevertheless, the faulty devices do not place enough tension in the belt, constrict so tightly, or release tension too early, they impair breathing or prevent escape from a damaged car.
Defective latches:
The poorly-made seat belts unbuckle instantly with light pressure or when the strap is pulled.
Design problems:
Some seat belts are not made to protect the user accurately. In addition, the belts that create gaps due to buckling placement or do not restrain the torso suffer from defective design.
Inadequate passive restraints:
Passive restraints are the devices that automatically slide down over the shoulder of the rider when the door is closed. These types of restraints are meant to work in conjunction with lap belts, but they can still cause significant upper body trauma when they fail in an accident.
Inadequate straps:
Poorly-constructed belts are more likely to develop rips and tears in the straps, leading to a lack of tension. As a result, it leads to seat belt injury.
Tension failure:
Some seat belts are automatically tightened with hard braking or when the car strikes an object. The belt should contract long enough to restrain the user while impacting with another car along with the secondary impact of striking objects within the car.
Handy tips to reduce the risk of seat belt injuries
- Your shoulder belt should be across the middle of your chest and away from your neck or your lap belt should be across your hips and below your stomach.
- You should never place the shoulder strap under your arm or behind your back.
- Your belt should not be uncomfortably tight.
- Your belt should not be loose enough to allow the wearer to move freely in the seat.
How can I sue for a seat belt injury?
Any personal injury lawsuit consists of 2 parties. The plaintiff needs to prove that the defendant was negligent and that their negligence leads to defective seat belt injuries.
After your car accident, one of the first questions you will be asked is who is at fault. Whether or not you or another driver caused the accident, there could be defects in the seat belt system that affect how you are compensated for the injuries.
1. The defective belts:
The defective belts could have a defective latch or tension detector, or another issue that would result in its not performing as expected.
However, if you were wearing your seat belt properly and it failed because either it was detached or did not tighten during the impact to keep you restrained. Seat belt failure could also cause you more seriously injured than you would have been had the seat belt worked as intended.
Nevertheless, if your car was totaled, it is vital to inspect it immediately. Once your car is destroyed, out of your legal ownership, or impounded, you no longer have it inspected for evidence of seat belt failure.
2. Insufficient seat belts:
There are some vehicles having certain positioning that have only a lap belt without a shoulder strap, such as in a middle backseat. Plaintiffs in insufficient seat belt lawsuits have previously claimed that the manufacturer made the passenger more vulnerable to serious injuries by not making a shoulder strap available.
3 ways to sue for defective product liability
If you or your child is suffering from injuries from any defective product, there are some of the top ways to file a lawsuit against a defective seat belt:
Design defect:
It occurs when the car seat belt is inherently dangerous because the design was not safe. Even if it’s manufactured exactly according to the design specifications, it remains a dangerous product when you use it accurately. Therefore, the only way to correct the defect is to change the design and make the seat belt different.
Inadequate warnings:
Even if the seat belt is designed and manufactured exactly as it should be, sometimes injuries happen because of the labels or packaging that didn’t provide sufficient warning to the consumer about dangers of incorrect use.
Manufacturing defect:
If the seat belt of your car was damaged because of not assembled properly, or otherwise comes through the manufacturing process incorrectly, it could result in a manufacturing defect.
Compensation for defective seatbelt claim
By filing your seat belt case, you will be able to get compensation for:
- Medical expenses from surgery, hospitalization, medication, and physical therapy.
- Property damage for the repair costs to your car.
- Past and future lost wages
- Pain and suffering from anxiety, emotional trauma, PTSD, mental trauma, and more.
- Wrongful death costs, such as funeral costs, pre-death medical costs, loss of consortium, loss of inheritance, and life insurance, if your loved one died from the accident:
Reasons why you need experienced lawyers
There are various reasons why you need a skilled and experienced lawyer for your seat belt injuries.
- It is difficult to prove that your seat belt is broken.
- It is hard for you to prove that you were using the seat belt correctly.
- These types of injuries might leave you stuck with the bills for your medical treatments.
- You won’t be able to earn an income if your injury left you unable to work or if you are facing expenses related to a life-long disability.
Nevertheless, you should not wait longer to file a lawsuit. Keep in mind that the rules and safety for children in cars differ from adult guidance. Therefore, it’s better to ensure your state laws concerning child safety seats, along with the manufacturer’s specifications for your specific vehicle and child safety seat. For this, you should hire a knowledgeable defective seat belt lawyer who can guide you through the whole process.
Ethen Ostroff Law
Ethen Ostroff Law is the name you can count on to get professional assistance regarding your defective seat belt lawsuit. You can fill out our form quickly to schedule your free case evaluation with one of our skilled and experienced attorneys. We will help you receive maximum compensation to cover the expenses of your accident and move forward.
