Chicago Seat Belt Injury Lawyer - Article

Force Distribution in Seat Belt Injuries

Seat belts are credited with saving thousands of lives every year. They are undoubtedly one of the most important safety features a vehicle can have – when properly designed and installed. Though seat belts can save lives, they have also been shown to cause serious injury when they are defective or badly designed.

Seat belts protect passengers by restraining them and cushioning the impact in the case of a collision. Most types of seat belts are designed using a pendulum locking system; when a car decelerates rapidly during a collision, the pendulum swings forward, causing the seat belt to lock up and catch the occupant before he or she can hit the dashboard or windshield.

However, the force of the crash and the passenger’s forward momentum must go somewhere. In the past, many seat belts consisted solely of a lap belt encircling the occupant’s waist. This design was quickly shown to be inadequate. In collisions, the entire weight of an occupant’s body would be thrown against this narrow strip, causing damage to ribs and soft internal organs.

The ribs are essentially a protective cage for the vital internal organs of the human body. When compromised, however, this protective cage can actually be a cause of injury. Fractured or broken ribs can puncture or tear into internal organs, causing serious or fatal wounds.

Most modern seat belts are known as ‘three-point belts,’ which consist of a shoulder belt and lap belt. This design distributes the force of a collision more evenly across the solid bones of an occupant’s chest, lessening – though not eliminating – the occurrence of these seatbelt-related injuries.

If you or your loved ones have been hurt because of a badly designed or defective seatbelt, contact a seat belt injury lawyer in Chicago right away. Call 312-466-8200 to discuss your legal options with an experienced professional from Friedman & Bonebrake, P.C.