Chicago Seat Belt Injury Attorney - Article

Types of Seat Belt Defects

In a serious car accident, seat belts can be the key to survival. They are designed to hold people firmly in place even as their vehicle swerves, stops suddenly, or even rolls over. Without them, many more of the six million car accidents that occur across the country would be fatal.

Imperfect Protection

Unfortunately, these important safety devices do not always work the way they are intended to. Flaws can be caused by poor designs or manufacturing errors. Whatever the cause, seat belt failure leads to serious injuries and even fatalities every year. Types of seal belt failures include:

• Inertial Release. Sometimes poorly designed or built belt buckles will release when pressure is applied to them. This causes seat belts to suddenly unclasp right when people need support the most: at the point of collision or at a sudden stop. An unclasped seat belt is barely any more help than having no seatbelt at all.
• Faulty Retractor. A retractor is like a spool that the belt is wound around. When a certain amount of pressure is applied to the belt, the retractor should lock, preventing any more of the belt from spooling out. When this locking device fails, the belt can continue to unwind, creating so much slack that the passenger is no longer secure.
• Belt Tearing. Sometimes seatbelts are made with flimsy material, causing them to tear when a certain amount of force is applied. It can take time, even years, for the belt to wear down enough for this to become a problem. For this reason, car manufacturers have a duty to make sure their seatbelts are made with the sturdiest material possible.

Seatbelt Malfunction Injuries

Victims of faulty seatbelts can sustain very serious injuries, including spinal injuries, brain damage, coma, and death. If you have been the victim of a badly designed or built seatbelt, you deserve compensation for your medical bills and suffering.

Contact the offices of Chicago seat belt injury lawyers Friedman & Bonebrake at 312-466-8200 today.