Defective vehicles can kill their occupants by causing a fatal accident to occur, or by turning an otherwise survivable accident deadly. Some of the most highly publicized defects are involved in SUV rollover deaths, including defective tires and design flaws. Less known are the deaths caused by the very devices meant to protect you and your family from injury during a crash including seat belts, air bags, and child safety seats. If you have lost a loved one in an auto accident due to a defective vehicle, you may be entitled to compensation through a wrongful death lawsuit.

Deadly defects

Many vehicle defects can be deadly, including:

· Faulty tires

· Defective brake systems

· Defective fuel systems

· Door latch defects

· Faulty steering systems

· Spontaneous acceleration

· Poor roof crush resistance

· Defective seat belts

· Defective air bags

· Defective car seats

· Faulty engine lights

· Commercial truck underride protection defects

· Commercial truck cab guard defects

· Defective ATVs

· Faulty U-Haul trailers

Rollovers

Rollover accidents are rare, making up only three percent of all accidents, but they are disproportionately responsible for fatal injuries in accidents, involved in about 30% of fatal accidents.

Deadly rollovers are almost always the result of defective vehicles. Defects which can cause a rollover to occur include:

· Faulty tires

· Design flaws, such as high center of gravity in SUVs and large passenger vans

Ejection is the most common cause of fatal injuries in rollover accidents. In addition to the defects which cause rollover accidents, some defects can cause ejection in the event of a rollover, including:

· Poor roof crush resistance

· Defective door latch

· Defective seat belts

Fuel-fed fire

Fuel-fed fires are caused by fuel system defects, and can quickly turn a survivable and even minor accident into a fatal accident. Fuel system defects which can cause a fire or explosion during an accident include:

· Faulty parts

· Design flaws

· Improper installation

Commercial truck underride protection

Underride accidents are some of the most gruesome and deadly accidents in which a passenger vehicle can be involved. In an underride accident the hood or trunk area of a car slides underneath the trailer of a commercial truck, and all of the force of the accident is applied to the passenger compartment, typically sheering off the top of the car. Decapitation and dismemberment are common results.

Underride protection systems can prevent these deadly accidents, but many trucks do not have underride protection and many of the systems currently installed do not function safely.

If a loved one in your family has been seriously injured or killed as a result of what you believe is a defective vehicle in Maryland, Washington DC, or Virginia, please contact the law offices of Chaikin, Sherman, Cammarata, & Siegel P.C.

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com - Deadly Defective Vehicles