Car Safety Advances: The Painful Evolution of Safe Seatbelts

This is the Third part of an Occasional Series detailing advances in automobile safety through the Civil Justice System

With the recent controversy over defective parts in Toyota automobiles, we here at Perenich The Law Firm felt it may be in order to let you know instances in the past where personal injury lawyers and car accident lawyers in our profession helped bring about important changes in car safety that were not previously regulated by the government.

Seat belts have long been an issue of great contention among the American public. However, for some, the question is not whether to wear the device or not, but defective devices that car companies knowingly installed in cars that went on to kill and injure victims of car accidents.

In one case, officials at DaimlerChrysler refused to follow the advice of their own engineers and used a dangerous model of seat belts that had at least 15 deaths and 18 serious injuries attributed to it. The design in question contained a seat belt release that consisted of a release button that protruded above the release button cover, and in instances of accidents, could be accidently depressed by loose objects or flailing arms. Although the engineers had identified the flaw and recommended to their superiors that newer, safer release buttons that did not risk the accidental depression, the officials decided to continue to use those potentially dangerous release buttons.

In different cases, the car manufacturer’s failure to install seat belts in the rear passenger seats, or the installation of the cheaper yet less safe “lap” seat belts were based on decisions from the executives that the changes weren’t necessary and that they could save $12 per car. This is another example of corporate greed taking precedence over the safety and well-being of the rest of the citizens.

At Perenich The Law Firm, we are proud to be part of the same Civil Justice System that has brought protection and peace of mind to every motorist on the roads in the country and here in Clearwater and the greater Tampa Bay area. As your Tampa Bay personal injury and car accident lawyers, we will serve you in times when corporations willfully put you and your loved ones at risk, and through our combined efforts, help create a safer society for the rest of the nation as well.