While any serious motor vehicle accident poses a risk of causing severe injuries, this danger is magnified when a vehicle occupant is ejected from the vehicle. There is a much higher probability of suffering catastrophic injuries if someone is ejected from a car, truck or SUV. Car industry safety data indicates that there is a 300 percent increase in the probability of a car accident fatality if a vehicle occupant is ejected. Some vehicle ejections are the product of faulty car door latches. Manufacturers of motor vehicles consider vehicle doors to be an essential part of the overall structural strength of the motor vehicle. It is reasonable to assume that car doors would be designed and manufactured to ensure that they are capable of withstanding the pressure and impact of a typical car accident. Unfortunately, many car door latching mechanisms are not designed to withstand the impact of a typical car crash.
While many vehicles come with automatic door locks, there are a wide range of vehicles in which this is not a standard feature. This means that vehicle occupants must manually engage the door lock mechanism. While it is a widely acknowledged that if the door lock mechanism is not engaged the door may swing open in a collision, many vehicle manufacturers do not provide adequate notice to vehicle consumers. If you or a loved one is injured in a car accident or a loved one dies because a defective door latch fails during a collision, you may have the basis for a product liability claim against the vehicle manufacturer. Even if the accident was caused by the negligence of another driver, this does not relieve the vehicle manufacturer of liability for a defectively designed or manufactured door latch.
Although there are industry standards that require door latch mechanisms to be designed to withstand certain levels of impact, there is no existing testing protocol to determine that door latches actually comply with these standards. Because there is no established testing procedure for determining whether vehicle door latch mechanisms meet industry standards, vehicles are often manufactured with defective door latches that will not withstand the impact that they are supposed to be able to absorb safely.
One component of door latch mechanisms that may be defective is the remote rod. This component is what connects the door handle to the door latch. If the remote rod bends under the force of impact during a collision, this may cause the door to fly open during a crash. Sometimes vehicles are designed with less safe remote rods. For example, tension type rods are less reliable than compression type linkage rods, but vehicle manufacturers do not always opt for the safer alternative. The way a vehicle is designed in the strength of the door may also impact whether or not the remote rod is compromised during a collision. If a car door has more than one retention point, this also makes the risk of a car door flying open during a collision less likely.
Although a vehicle with a defective door latch can turn a minor collision into a catastrophic accident, vehicle manufacturers do not necessarily rush to recall vehicles because of defective door latches because of the cost associated with a widespread recall. There have been a number of incidents in the past where recalls of vehicles were delayed despite the company having information suggesting that the vehicle door latches did not meet minimum safety requirements under federal law.
The Mississippi car accident lawyers of Barrett Law represent those injured in car crashes throughout the state, including those caused by defective motor vehicles. If you have been injured in a Mississippi car accident caused by a defective vehicle or faulty vehicle component, the experienced Mississippi car accident attorneys at Barrett Law diligently represent accident victims throughout the state so call us today at 662-834-2376 to see how we can help.