Rollovers are singularly deadly and cause disproportionally serious injuries to those who survive. While rollover crashes are rare, representing only 2.5 percent of all U.S. crashes, almost one third of all occupant fatalities are rollover-related. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), over 10,000 Americans dies each year in rollover crashes. Moreover, over 24,000 people suffer catastrophic injuries in rollover crashes. Common injuries include spinal cord injuries and brain injuries caused by trauma.
Any number of factors can cause a loss of control leading to a rollover event, including a defective tire, contact with another vehicle, a steering failure, or simply an attempt to avoid danger though an emergency avoidance maneuver. At that point, a vehicle’s design, including a faulty suspension or steering system, may cause what should be a foreseeable controlled event into an unsalvageable loss of control.

One design choice which may lead to a loss of control and rollover is a manufacturer’s decision not to place Electronic Stability Control (or ESC) into its vehicles. ESC is a crash avoidance system found on many vehicles. ESC is designed to help a driver stay in control of his or her vehicle during an emergency maneuver, including situations in which the driver must swerve or brake suddenly to avoid an obstacle. ESC monitors your steering versus the direction of the vehicle. When they do not match, ESC will automatically actuate the brakes at one or more wheels for short periods of time, reduce engine power, or both. If at all possible, ESC will bring the vehicle back under control. Recent studies, including work by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and NHTSA estimate that ESC would reduce the number of fatal or serious crashes by some 43% in the United States.

Whether the loss of control is caused by ESC or some other event, our attorneys, working with investigators and experts, will work hard to find out exactly what caused it. Losing control, however, is one thing. Rolling over is another. Ford, for example, long ago adopted a design goal that its vehicles should "slide out" rather than roll over on flat, dry asphalt. Despite that goal, its Explorer, because of a high center of gravity and narrow track width, became tragically infamous for its rollover propensity.

Our attorneys, working with design experts and relying upon manufacturing testing, can determine whether a vehicle involved in a rollover has an unacceptably high rollover risk.

Finally, rolling over is one thing. Needlessly suffering death or catastrophic injuries is another. The truth is that, in a properly designed vehicle, a rollover event can be a relatively benign event for its passengers. Volvo’s recent rollover testing involving its XC90 SUV demonstrates that, with a strong roof, airbags and pretensioners, vehicle manufacturers can protect consumers from harm in rollover events.

Unfortunately, the Volvo XC90 is not the norm. Instead, manufacturers choose to put weak roofs on vehicles they know will rollover and end up on their roofs. For only dollars a vehicle, those manufacturers could protect their customers from harm. Instead, they choose profits over safety. Likewise, and by choosing to deny consumers necessary air bags, optimal restraint systems, and laminated safety glass, manufactures unnecessarily expose consumers to death and catastrophic injury in foreseeable rollover events. Those types of cases are called "crashworthiness" cases.

Our attorneys have the skill and experience to determine whether a rollover case involves crashworthiness issues. Our attorneys have successfully handled literally dozens of rollover cases against virtually every manufacturer (up through and including trial) and have worked hard to deliver the extraordinary results we are famous for. Call or write us today for a free consultation.

Actual Rollover Case Handled By The Gomez Law Firm

In this case tragedy struck a family during a family trip to Mexico when the Michelin tire on their Suburban delaminated, causing their vehicle to lose control and roll over. A child lost her life and an entire family suffered injuries. Working with their national affiliates, the Gomez Law Firm brought suit, and obtained a confidential settlement from both General Motors and Michelin.