North Carolina Product Liability Blog : North Carolina Product Liability Lawyer & Attorney : D. Hardison Wood : Toy Safety, Child Restraint, Car Seats

A widow of a border patrol agent has filed a lawsuit against General Motors and Continental Tire Company. Her husband was riding in is patrol vehicle when the tire fell apart. The vehicle then rolled over causing severe head trauma due to the roof crush sustained in the roll.

Agent Webb's vehicle rolled, and the roof collapsed causing massive head injuries.

As we have learned defective tire production spans across many manufacturers. And as we have often discussed the head trauma caused by roof crush and the loose roof crush standards in vehicles often leads to catastrophic injuries or death.

If you or someone you know has been affected by a product failure, please contact us at 919-677-0144.

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Two suits have been filed recently bringing into the question design flaws in the Yamaham Rhino ATV.

On June 10, 2005, the Mitchells' daughter was riding as a passenger in Rhino ATV when during normal operation the vehicle tipped over onto the passenger side. She suffered severe injuries to her knee, arm, foot and ankle, requiring surgery and the amputation of four toes on her right foot.

Jeffrey Lambert, a 47-year old physician's assistant and former captain in U.S. Air Force, filed a personal injury lawsuit against Yamaha for the catastrophic injuries he suffered. On August 17, 2007, the Rhino Lambert was driving tipped over at a low rate of speed. Read the Article here

Stability seems to be a common question and common design flaw in ATVs that we have been hearing and seeing lately in our own practice. Manufacturers must be held accountable when they do not make changes to their dangeorusly designed products especially  when they have inexpensive alternative designs and modfications available.

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A new investigative report by 10tv.com brings to light  a major issue regarding safety standards of a car's roof and its ability to withstand crush during a rollover. The testing has not been adequate but beyond that the standard which is currently in place,

"which has been in effect since the early 1970s, has been a total, ineffective disaster," according to Bryon Bloch, an automobile expert who has testified in courts across the U.S. about how weak roofs have led to serious injuries.

For years there has been talk about raising the standard, however, there are constant delays.

The NHTSA acknowledged that the standard was not good enough in 2005. That was when the agency announced that it should be improved from 1 1/2 to 2 times

Nearly four years later, the NHTSA has not improved the standard, Aker reported. Instead, it has issued a trail of statements announcing postponements, such as one from October saying, "We must ensure that any final rules we issue are as successful as possible... we need more time to complete a new roof strength standard."

In the meantime, while we are waiting for the standards to be reviewed and final changes made, as 10tv.com reports, "As many as 10,000 people are killed and 16,000 are injured in rollover crashes."

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