What Constitutes a Defective Seat Belt?
Restraint systems, such as seat belts and airbags, are intended to protect people in the event of a vehicle accident; however, when seat belts and airbags are improperly designed and manufactured, they can malfunction and cause serious injuries and death. For more than three decades, Langdon & Emison has represented people who have been seriously injured or lost loves ones in cases involving defective seat belts and airbags. Our attorneys have deep experience evaluating cases for potential seat belt and airbag defects and will evaluate your case at no cost or obligation to you.
A Firm with Deep Experience in Defective Seat Belt Failure Lawsuits
The rear-center seat is often considered the safest place to sit; yet if the seat is not equipped with the proper restraints, it may be the deadliest. In many seat belt cases we’ve handled, the person sitting in the rear center seat sustained catastrophic injuries such as paralysis while most of the other vehicle occupants walked away from the crash with only minor injuries. Often these injuries are caused by two-point restraints, also known as lap only belts, which can cause a car occupant to jackknife over the lap belt or slide under it upon impact and suffer severe spinal cord and abdominal injuries.
Automakers have known for decades that three-point restraints (lap and shoulder belts) are safer than lap only belts; however, three-point restraints in the rear-center seat were not mandated in the U.S. until 2007. along with restraint design flaws or malfunctions can be the cause of unnecessary injuries or death. Consider the case example below:
Seat Belt Failure Case, Batts v. Ford, Confidential Settlement
After a six-week jury trial in North Carolina, Langdon & Emison reached a confidential settlement with Ford Motor Co. on behalf of a 11 year-old boy who suffered life-altering injuries from the two-point lap belt he was wearing in a car accident that rendered him paraplegic. The child, who was in the middle seating position, “jackknifed” over the lap belt and suffered severe spinal cord and abdominal injuries.
