Crashworthiness

California Vehicle Crashworthiness Claims and Litigation

Crashworthiness refers to those properties of a motor vehicle that protect a driver and passengers in the event of a collision. Auto manufacturers need to design vehicles that offer a reasonable degree of protection in foreseeable types of collisions. Too often, manufacturers sacrifice crashworthiness to other vehicle design and performance features, and to profit.

Contact an experienced automotive products liability attorney at The McClellan Law Firm if you suspect that a serious injury or fatality in your family could have been avoided with better vehicle crashworthiness. We have represented many personal injury and wrongful death clients in car accident litigation that turned on the question of the vehicle's ability to withstand head-on, rear-end, or side-impact collisions. In auto defect cases involving crashworthiness issues, we work closely with experts to analyze the results of test data. This helps to indicate the vehicle's safety performance under different accident scenarios and the conscious choices made by the manufacturer to address or ignore known deficiencies.

Drivers and passengers have a right to protection from auto accident injuries that are caused or aggravated by such vehicle crashworthiness defects as the following:

• Roof crush injuries resulting from inadequate structural strength
• Failure of seatbelts or airbag systems
• Unreasonable risk of injury from broken windshield or window glass
• Insufficient "crumple zone" performance in head-on or rear-end collisions
• Unreasonable risk of ejection due to door latch failure
• Unreasonable risk of injury from fire or explosion caused by defective fuel line or gas tank design
• Unreasonable risk of being driven into the steering wheel or dashboard
• Inadequate interior padding to protect against fractures or injuries to internal organs

At The McClellan Law Firm, we have earned a national reputation for the results we have achieved on behalf of clients with complex auto defect claims ranging from SUV rollovers to injuries caused by defective seatbelts. We work effectively with design experts, engineers, and automotive safety professionals in order to develop and present your crashworthiness claims as thoroughly and persuasively as possible. With more than $250 million in damages recovered for our clients to date, our record of success in auto defect litigation speaks for itself.

To learn more about our ability to provide effective and responsive client service in a vehicle crashworthiness claim against any auto manufacturer, contact a Southern California personal injury lawyer at The McClellan Law Firm in San Diego.