Did Your Seat Belt Break or Fail in an Accident?
Posted Friday, October 15, 2021 by Chris Thayer
We put a lot of trust in seat belts to keep us safe, and for good reason. Studies show that wearing a seat belt can cut your risk of dying or being seriously injured in a car accident by half. That means that wearing a seat belt can literally be the difference between life and death. We are taught from an early age that we should put on our seat belts as soon as we get in the car, and that if we fail to wear a seat belt, but then get into an accident, any harm we suffer is our fault and a lesson for others to learn from.
But what happens if you wore a seat belt, just like you were supposed to, and it did not do its job? This happens more often than you might think. In fact, an estimated three million people each year are injured due to seat belt malfunctions or defective seat belts. If you were one of these people, you are entitled to compensation for any harm that you suffered as a result of the defective seat belt. In this article, we will provide general information on what you can do if a defective seat belt has caused you or a loved one harm. However, every case is different. If you would like personalized feedback based on your specific case, contact the experienced Seattle personal injury attorneys at Pivotal Law Group and schedule a consultation today.
*Types of Seat Belt Defects *There are a number of ways that a seat belt can be defective. A seat belt buckle can fail to latch securely into place, causing it to come undone in an accident. If this happened to you, it is likely that you would have been marked “unrestrained” in the accident report. This is because in the aftermath it will look like you were never wearing a seat belt at all. If you see “unrestrained” in your accident report and you know you were wearing a seat belt, it is important to address the issue right away by talking to an attorney. It is important to address because otherwise it may impact the amount of liability or coverage that you are assigned. Additionally, notifying your lawyer of this fact will allow them to consider a product liability claim for the defect. Another defect occurs when the car impacts a force and the seat belt fails to lock, instead unspooling rapidly. This can cause a passenger to fly out of the seat belt, and even to be ejected from the car.
*Suing for a Seat Belt Defect *Not every seat belt defect will provide grounds for a lawsuit. For instance, if you purchased a car and then noticed the seat belt was defective, but did not suffer any harm as a result, this would not be grounds for a lawsuit because there are not any damages yet. On the other hand, if you can show that your defective seat belt caused you harm that you would not have suffered had it functioned correctly, then you have grounds to bring a case. Additionally, you will not have to prove negligence on the part of the company. All that you will have to prove is that the seat belt was defective and that it caused you harm.
*Talk to Pivotal Law Group*If you have been injured in the Seattle, Bellevue, Kent, Renton, Burien, Mercer Island, Issaquah, or greater Washington State area as the result of a defective seat belt or other vehicle defect, the experienced personal injury attorneys at Pivotal Law Group are here to help. Contact us today to schedule a free consultation.