Chicago Car Accident Lawyer Blog

Imagine riding down the road and your airbags explode for no apparent reason. A woman from Chicago recently experienced this situation firsthand and survived unharmed in what could have been a dangerous chain of events possibly caused by a defective vehicle. The sudden deployment could have caused an SUV rollover accident in Chicago that could have led to serious injury or death.

My Fox Chicago reports that no one was severely harmed after the airbags deployed for no apparent reason. The driver of the SUV is trying to figure out what caused the passenger-side airbags to deploy since she wasn't involved in an accident. She was driving 25 mph and didn't hit anything in the road to cause the explosion.

The GMC Envoy was towed to a dealership but the owner was told there would need to be an investigation since no accident occurred, which could take anywhere from two weeks to two months. In the meantime, the driver has a swollen arm and is getting socked with a $200 a week car-rental invoice, which will only be reimbursed if GM finds they are at fault.

Cook County car accident lawyers know that many consumers choose to drive an SUV because of its size and the fact that they feel safe in a bigger vehicle. No-fault accidents involving defective vehicle parts and the size of the vehicles involved in crashes continue to contribute to serious and fatal injuries. A knowledgeable attorney and proper reconstruction of the facts and circumstances of an accident are important when building a personal injury or wrongful death case.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety recently released a statement that SUVs and pickups are safer than in past generations according to a recent study. These larger vehicle types were more likely to kill occupants in other vehicles than a car or minivan of similar weight involved in a crash.

A recent study involving vehicles 1-4 years old and weighing 3,000-3,499 pounds showed that SUVs were involved in crashes resulting in fatalities at a rate of 16 deaths per million registered vehicles in 2008-09 -- a two-thirds drop from 2000-01 when the rate was 44 deaths per million registered vehicles. Cars and mini-vans with the same weight and age specifications were involved in fatal crashes with other vehicle occupants at a rate of 17 deaths per million in 2008-09.

One thing is certain. The laws of physics continue to play a role in crashes; size and weight do matter. Lightweight and smaller vehicles can't compete against heavier and larger vehicles when a crash occurs between the two. The recent study only helps to provide evidence that vehicle styles can differ but if the weight is similar, each vehicle occupant has similar risks of injury or chances of survival in a crash.

If you suspect your vehicle may have a defective part, has been issued a recall notice, or you want to check the safety rating of a particular car or SUV, visit safercar.gov for helpful information about your vehicle.

Continue reading "Costly Defective Vehicle Damages Requires Experienced Cook County Car Accident Attorney" »

Our Chicago Personal Injury attorneys know that becoming a parent, whether for the first or the last time, comes with a host of concerns about keeping their child safe and healthy. Choosing the right car seat – one that is safety tested, affordable, comfortable, even stylish – is one of those critical safety items that most parents fret over long before their new baby arrives.

And car seats aren’t just important during those first couple years of life. Most state laws now require our youngest passengers to graduate from car seat to booster seat to lap and shoulder belt to seat belt. Essentially, at every stage of development – even into adulthood – some type of protective restraint is either required by law or recommended.

On Oct. 15, Evenflo – maker of the Maestro series of car seats and boosters – voluntarily recalled 13,792 certain Maestro Combination Booster Seats that cracked under simulated high-impact frontal collisions in laboratory testing. To date, no injuries or deaths have been reported in the field.

The recall includes seats that begin with the model number 310, were manufactured between November 24, 2009 and April 26, 2010, and distributed throughout the U.S. and Canada. Seats built after April 2010 – and other Evenflo Maestro models – are unaffected.

Evenflo is advising consumers that the seat should NOT be used if child passenger weighs less than 40 pounds until the repair bracket has been installed. But for children heavier than 40 pounds, continued use of seat as a belt-positioning booster is safe.

The company is sending notices to all registered owners and are removing all remaining booster seat units from store shelves. Owners are encouraged to visit Evenflo.com or contact Evenflo by phone at 1-800-233-5921 (U.S.) and 1-800-265-0749 (Canada) for a free reinforcement kit. It is not recommended that customers return seats to retail stores where purchased.

In September, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety evaluated the safety belt fit for 72 booster seats, issuing 21 “best bet” ratings, 7 “good bet” ratings and 7 “not recommended” rankings. Three models of Evenflo boosters earned the IIHS “not recommended” status. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recommends that either backless or back-and-head-support booster seats be properly installed in the back seat of vehicles and used by passengers aged 4 to 8, who weigh at least 40-lbs. and are less than 4’9” tall.

Continue reading "Evenflo issues voluntary recall of certain booster seats to preempt Illinois defective product injuries" »