Seat Belt Injury Compensation
Lawyers

Seat Belt Injury Compensation Attorney

What happens when your seatbelt fails during an accident? Will you be entitled to some form of compensation? Our seat belt injury attorneys represent victims who have an injury from a seat belt during a car accident.  This usually occurs when the seatbelt is defective and fails to perform properly during an accident.

Many states, including California and Nevada, have legally mandated the wearing of seat belts when either driving or riding as a passenger in a vehicle. Wearing a seatbelt helps reduce the chances of getting severely hurt in an accident by 30%. Although accidents are meant to prevent any further injury, sometimes, some car accident victims end up getting hurt by the seat belt itself. Seat belt failures can lead to severe and catastrophic injuries. We represent seatbelt injury clients all the way from Los Angeles to Las Vegas. Our seat belt injury attorneys have various resources in the state of California and Nevada to help you when your claim against the at fault parties.

If you or a loved one have been injured due to a defect in the seat belt that has caused injuries during a car accident, contact our California and Nevada seat belt injury attorneys today. Our experienced seatbelt injury attorneys will be able to listen to your legal claim during our free no risk consultation period during this consultation, you will determine who the potential defendants are for your seatbelt injury.  We recommend that all our clients wear seat belts while driving, however, if you have been injured due to the seat belt, contact our seat belt injury attorneys today to see what type of damages you could be compensated for.

How Are Seat Belt Injuries Caused?

Seat belt injuries are ultimately caused when the belt restrains the passenger of a car or fails to hold the passenger back adequately during the accident. Because of this abrupt and aggressive restraint, there is a severe impact to the stomach, chest, back or neck area. 

What Are Some Common Seat Belt Defects?

There are different ways a seatbelt could have a defect. Different types of seat belt defects include:

• When the seatbelt is released from the latch during the accident and then is unattached
• When the seatbelt is designed incorrectly
• When the seatbelt is mounted into the door
• When the seat belt is torn because if the cheap fabric material it is made out of
• When the seat belt comes loose during the accident
• When the seat belt is not retracted correctly during an accident

 As seen above, there are only a few indicators that show if the seatbelt had a defect during the accident. There are several different types of vehicles that are constantly recalled due to seatbelt defects. We have just seen recent recalls for Ford, Honda, and Toyota seat belt designs. Our accident reconstruction experts will investigate your accident and determine how the seatbelt’s defect exactly caused your injuries.

How Do I Know if Seatbelt Has a Defect?

After getting involved in an accident and sustaining seat belt injuries, it is important that you contact our seatbelt injury attorneys immediately. Our seat belt injury attorneys will be investigating the accident and determine if the seat belt defect is responsible for your injuries. Different types of signs we look for that indicate a seat belt defect was present is:

• The seat belt was torn after an accident
• The victim was thrown into the windshield during the accident
• Multiple passengers of the car were injured from their seatbelt
• The seat belt was unlatched during the accident

How Common Are Seat Belt Injuries?

Seat belt injuries are somewhat common in the United States. They are likely to cause serious injury or death across the country. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, more than 3 million people suffer seat belt injuries every year. Among those three million people, 40,000 people die from seat belt defects. All those people that are intended to minimize injury as much as possible, defects in the seat belt can cause very severe injuries.

Seat Belt Injuries

There are several different types of injuries that are caused by a defective seat belt. Different types of injuries include:

• Skin abrasions: skin abrasions occur when the seat belt rubs across the skin of the driver. Skin abrasions are most likely to be found in the area near the stomach. These are the most common types of seat belt injuries. Seat belt abrasions are also likely to cause internal injuries.
• Head injuries: this is the second most common seat belt injuries
• Brain injuries: this occurs when the driver is pushed forward towards the windshield and hits their head to the glass.
• Shoulder injuries: because of the abrupt impact of the seat belt impact, the soft tissue in the shoulder bones could tear. This type of injury may need physical therapy sessions and the use of the shoulder may be temporarily limited.
• Broken rib bones: many passengers may experience broken or fractured ribs because of the seat belt restraint. This needs immediate medical treatment to determine if there are further injuries caused to the lungs. Injuries to the lungs could result in future breathing problems. A minor rib injury includes bruising, which could be treated by icing it.
• Spinal cord injuries: this is most common when the lap belt is fastened on really tight
• Disfigurement: this occurs when the driver has been involved in a very severe accident and is flung out of the car suffering fractured limbs.
• Stomach injuries: stomach injuries are very rare, however if the passenger experiences any type of abdominal pain, they should seek immediate medical care.
• Death: when death has occurred, the victim’s family members bring a wrongful death claim against the at fault party.