Rollover crashes, generally, are very serious with the occupants more likely to suffer traumatic injuries or death. Vehicles such as sport utility vehicles or SUVs are more likely to roll over than cars because of a higher center of gravity.  SUVs are a very popular family car today with the demand for them first increasing during the 1990s.  But each year thousands of people are injured and killed in dangerous and tragic SUV rollover accidents.

 

Rollover Crashes Account for One Third of Vehicle-Passenger Deaths

According to a 2007 report by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) entitled, “An Analysis of Motor Vehicle Rollover Crashes and Injury Outcomes,” it was found that 256,695 vehicles rolled over in the United States in 2004. A total of 10,553 people were killed in these rollovers. Of those 10,553 fatalities, 8,565 were the result of single-vehicle rollovers. Although only about 3 per cent of all crashes are rollovers, rollovers account for one third of all vehicle-passenger deaths across the country.

 

According to the NHTSA, 231,692 people were injured in rollover crashes in 2004. Injuries can include brain injury, spinal cord injury, loss of limbs, fractures and other severe problems as a result of SUV rollover accidents.  Many times the rollover accident occurs because the driver must suddenly swerve to avoid something on the road or another driver who abruptly comes into the path of the vehicle.  Whereas a car may slide across the road, SUVs instead have a tendency to tip and roll over.  Manufacturers have a duty to warn drivers of any foreseeable dangers.

 

Rollover litigation in an SUV rollover accident case against the vehicle manufacturer often times is based upon product liability law.  It means that the product, in this case the vehicle, has a defect in the design or manufacture that causes the injury or death.  The company has a responsibility to make the product reasonably safe when used properly. The handling and braking of the vehicle comes under close scrutiny when a rollover accident occurs.  Tire failure, tire tread defects, poor stability design, poorly designed suspension systems and inadequate braking systems are just some of the possible causes to be examined.  Furthermore, the roofs of these vehicles are prone to being crushed and the passengers are often ejected in the crash.  The roof supports, seat backs, seat belts, buckles and head restraint devices, as well as the windshields and glass, also must be evaluated following a rollover crash.

 

SUV Rollover Accident Attorneys with Clifford Law Offices

Clifford Law Offices has been representing the victims of serious rollover accidents for 30 years. The combined experience of the attorneys adds up to hundreds of years of personal injury and wrongful death work. A Clifford Law Offices’ rollover accident attorney examines the cause of the crash. It can be an issue of maintenance, excessive speed, alcohol use, tire blowouts, brake failure, unsafe safety systems or warning devices, failure to yield the right of way, tailgating, or unsafe road conditions. The firm will also examine rollover accident victims’ losses that include medical expenses, lost wages, future earnings, future medical care, pain and suffering, grief, sorrow and mental suffering, loss of quality of life and other possible damage claims.

 

For example, Clifford Law Offices represented a young mother who was ejected from her vehicle in a rollover accident, and sustained severe injuries to her pelvis, leg, and spinal vertebrae. Robert Clifford and Richard Burke also reached a $22 million settlement against Ford Motor Company, a Ford dealership, and a tire retailer in a sport utility vehicle rollover accident lawsuit that left two teenagers dead and another a quadriplegic. The suit found design defects in the Ford Explorer and improper tires placed on the SUV.

 

Robert Clifford settled the case in 2004 on behalf of a 31-year-old mother who was ejected from her vehicle during a rollover and she sustained multiple fractures to her pelvis, leg and spinal vertebrae. Robert Walsh settled a matter in 2007 of a 19-year-old female passenger who suffered pelvis and arm fractures and facial lacerations in a single vehicle rollover on the Eisenhower Expressway for the defendant's policy limits. Richard F. Burke settled another rollover case for a confidential amount in 2006 for a family whose husband father of three children was killed when his Mitsubishi SUV was involved in a rollover.

 

All of these are tragic crashes and all of them required experienced rollover accident lawyers. Drivers and manufacturers must be held accountable for their negligent actions. Clifford Law Offices represented these families and got answers for them that they deserved. Please call Clifford Law Offices, experienced rollover accident attorneys, at 312-899-9090.

 

Chicago, Illinois SUV rollover accident attorneys with Clifford Law Offices have successfully handled many cases involving rollover crashes and are available for consultations.