Los Angeles Car Accident

Rollovers

The Law Offices of Howard Craig Kornberg represents people injured in a Los Angeles car accident on the streets and highways of LA and Southern California, including victims of vehicle rollovers caused by collisions with negligent drivers, unsafe or poorly-designed roads, or improperly-designed vehicles.

Even if the driver was driving carefully and properly belted in the seat, rollovers have the potential to cause fatal or debilitating injuries.  Rollovers are caused by faulty vehicle designs, and poor automobile construction aggravates the problem by making injuries from Los Angeles car accidents more severe than they might have been.  Over the past couple of decades, cars, especially pickup trucks, vans, and SUVs, have gotten bigger, taller, and more top-heavy, increasing their propensity to rollover in an impact or merely from road handling on a sharp turn or steep incline.  Many of these vehicles are also marketed for off-road use on difficult terrain, where a rollover is even more likely.

Even considering design flaws in the vehicle's suspension, many rollovers could be prevented by installing Electronic Stability Control (ESC) on the vehicle.  ESC and computerized traction control technology has been available for decades, and studies show that universal adoption of ESC could reduce car accidents in Los Angeles and fatalities by 35%, or 67% in the case of SUVs.  Yet only about half of the vehicles sold in the United States offer this option, which would cost the manufacturer about $100 to add. 

Los Angeles Car Accidents

The ease with which some car roofs crush on impact is one of the main reasons that rollovers cause nearly one-third of fatalities in Los Angeles auto accidents, wholly out of proportion to the frequency with which cars roll over in a serious car accident in Los Angeles.  A roof crush is likely to cause severe head or neck injury, even more so if the occupant of the vehicle is properly restrained with the seat in an upright position.  A severe head injury or broken neck within the three top cervical vertebrae is likely to be fatal; if the occupant does survive a roof crush, permanent traumatic brain injury (TBI) or permanent paralysis from a spinal cord injury, including paraplegia or quadriplegia, may result. 

A roof crush can be avoided if roofs were simply built stronger by the manufacturer.  However, given the relative infrequency of rollovers compared with other car accidents in Los Angeles, automakers often skimp on materials in the roof or fail to provide any structural reinforcement.  It is unconscionable that the auto industry would put profits ahead of safety and market cars that cause catastrophic injuries which could be avoided through the use of available technology and safety features.  This is a serious situation that our Los Angeles car accident lawyers have experience handling.

If you or a loved one has been seriously injured in a rollover or Los Angeles car accident, consult with Howard Craig Kornberg today using our online contact form and get reliable legal help obtaining the financial recovery you need to cope with medical bills and injuries.