Seat belts help protect you and keep you secure in a collision. But when a seat belt fails, you can sustain severe injuries. Seat belt failure can also cause death. If you’ve been injured in Nebraska because of a seat belt failure, the law office of Welsh & Welsh can help you. Our Omaha seat belt failure lawyers are skilled and compassionate people who understand what you’re going through and want to help you get fair compensation for your injuries.
What Problems Can a Defective Seat Belt Have?
There are multiple ways that a seat belt can fail. Manufacturers are supposed to ensure that these don’t happen. But when they cut corners or use cheap materials to make their products, they’re putting innocent people at risk. Seat belts can have the following issues:
- Inertial Unlatching. This occurs when you need the seat belt to work the most: during an accident. Even though you’re buckled in, the seatbelt unlatches during the accident and you lose the protection of a restraint.
- Material Defects. If the belt has material or weaving defects, it can tear or rip and will not securely hold you.
- Retractor Failure. Seat belts are supposed to become taut in an accident. A retractor failure happens when the belt becomes slack and will not successfully restrain you in the crash.
- Lap Belts. Seat belts are supposed to go across your body and your lap to safely secure you. Seat belts with lap belt-only designs still put you at risk of being thrown forward. You could hurt your head, neck, or upper body.
Your seat belt failure may have occurred in a different way. If you have any questions about your case, get in touch with our attorneys to go over how your seat belt failed, as well as the validity of your claim.
What Happens When Seat Belts Fail?
Seat belt failure puts everyone at risk of sustaining devastating injuries and possibly causing fatalities. The following can occur when your seat belt doesn’t work:
- Fails to Minimize Injuries. Seat belts protect you from getting the full force of the impact and lessens the amount of injuries. When your seat belt fails, your injuries will be much worse.
- Ejection. The driver and the front passenger seat are at risk of being ejected from the car if their seat belts fail. The force of the impact can propel them forward and to the ground. These events often cause major injuries and can also be fatal.
- Contact with Windshield. Sometimes, the driver and front passenger get caught within the windshield when their seat belts fail to keep them from flying forward. The contact with the broken glass can cause severe injuries to the head and the broken glass can cause severe lacerations.
If you’ve lost a loved one because of a defective seat belt, you have legal options that can get them justice. The Omaha wrongful death lawyers at Welsh & Welsh can help you with your claim. We know that a successful claim won’t undo the pain of what happened, but it can give you one less thing to worry about in the future.
How Do You Know If a Seat Belt Failed?
You may be worried about how you’ll be able to prove that seat belt failure occurred. There are several ways to investigate seat belt failure and show that it happened:
- Multiple People Were Injured. There’s a greater chance that the car had faulty seat belts if more than one person in the vehicle was wearing a seat belt prior to the crash and sustained severe injuries.
- Personal Account. Injured passengers can give their account of whether or not they were buckled up for the crash. If other people were also in the vehicle, they can provide their account to corroborate it.
- Injuries Are Greater Than Damage. If someone sustained serious injuries but the vehicle’s damage was minimal, then there’s a chance it was because the seat belt failed to secure them during the collision.
- The Damaged Seat Belt Is Found. There’s also the physical evidence of the seat belt itself. A ripped, torn, or otherwise damaged seat belt found at the accident site will show that it failed to work properly.
Our lawyers are trained to investigate accidents and help find the cause of the accident and what caused your injuries. We’ll make sure to have all the facts for your claim.
Get Peace of Mind from an Omaha Seat Belt Failure Lawyer
When a defective seat belt causes you to sustain severe injuries after being involved in a car wreck, you may be worrying about affording your medical bills and missing work. We’re here to help you get compensation to cover those costs. Your focus should be on healing and getting back to your everyday life. Get in touch with our office today and set up a consultation free of charge.
