Contact Anthony Quackenbush, a Fort Lauderdale Defective Seatbelt Lawyer. He handles all types of seatbelt failure cases in Broward County, South Florida and throughout Florida.
Seatbelt failures occur when a vehicle is involved in an accident, and the seatbelts don’t properly function and protect the occupants of the vehicle. This can happen in several different ways. For one, the belt buckle can improperly pop open, causing latch failure/unlatching defects and the belt to become loose. This can cause the occupant to move around inside the vehicle.
If the belt itself is made of poor quality material, it can tear itself – again causing the occupant to become dislodged and fly about inside the vehicle.
There can also be manufacturing defects in a seatbelt, and the webbing in the seatbelt can be poor quality – leading to a seatbelt failure.
The belt may also unwind improperly and allow excessive slack, again causing the occupant to become loose inside the vehicle. This is known as “retractor failure.” When a vehicle is involved in an accident, the seatbelt is supposed to “catch” and not spool out or unwind further. If the seatbelt unwinds too much, then the vehicle occupant may become dislodged and move about inside of the vehicle.
Seatbelt failures also occur when seatbelts are improperly designed. That is, certain types of seatbelts may be more prone to cause injuries than others. Lap-only seatbelts, for example, are more likely to cause abdominal and other injuries than are three-point seatbelts. If you’ve been injured in a car accident while wearing a lap-only seatbelt, you may have a claim against the manufacturer of the seatbelt or vehicle.
Shoulder-only belts can also cause injuries. If the vehicle occupant becomes loose in the belt, the belt can wrap around the occupants neck and cause severe neck and head injuries.
Should you be injured due to a broken seatbelt, call this Fort Lauderdale Defective Seatbelt Law Firm at 954-448-7288 for a free, no obligation consultation. If you hire Mr. Quackenbush, he won’t get paid until you’ve been compensated for your injuries. He works on cases in all areas of Florida, including West Palm Beach and Miami.
There are certain things you can do in order to try to avoid seatbelt failure. For example, in the case of a child, you can make sure that the belt covers the child’s shoulder. If the belt is too high and does not cover the child’s shoulder, then the child should be placed in a car seat.
It is also important to check the material in the belt to make sure it is not worn, that there are no tears or lacerations, etc. If the belt is in bad shape, then it can possible break and fail to protect the occupants of the vehicle in case of an accident.
Finally, you can make sure the belt buckle is secure by gently tugging or pulling on the belt upon fastening the seat belt. If the belt buckle becomes dislodged, then the occupants could become dislodged and fly about the vehicle.
Seatbelt failure cases can cause severe injuries when vehicle occupants become loose inside of the vehicle. Because of the extreme velocities occupants can move inside the vehicle after a seatbelt failure, all types of injuries can occur. These include catastrophic injuries, traumatic brain injuries (TBI’s) and closed head injuries, brain damage, paralysis, paraplegia and quadriplegia, cerebral palsy, comas and vegetative states. They also include fractured ankles and ankle injuries, fractured knee caps, fractured hips (including hip replacement surgeries and operations), fractured pelvis (including pelvic repair surgeries and operations), fractured tail bones, fractured ribs, fractured clavicles and collarbones, fractured elbows (including elbow surgeries and operations), fractured wrists (including wrist surgeries and operations), finger injuries (including finger amputations), maxillofacial injuries including fractures to the nose, jaw and other bones in the face, fractured femurs and broken legs, fractured tibias and shins, and fractured fibulas.
The statute of limitations for a Seatbelt failure case is four years. If the defective Seatbelt accident involved a death, then the time limitations may be different. In any case, it is crucial to contact this South Florida Seatbelt Failure Lawyer and not delay the start of your case.
Should you be injured due to a broken seatbelt anywhere in the State of Florida, contact Mr. Quackenbush at 954-448-7288 for a free, no obligation consultation. If you decide to hire Mr. Quackenbush to represent you in your case, this Broward County Seatbelt Failure Lawyer won’t get paid until you’ve received compensation in your case – so there is no risk to you.