San Antonio Injury Attorney Blog

In the last ten years, SUV rollovers have become a major problem in San Antonio and greater Texas. There are several factors that contribute to this tragic phenomenon in the states. For example, many manufacturers produce SUVs with an excessively high center of gravity. Sometimes, SUVs possess weak suspension systems or shock absorbers that are not located far enough outboard. The bottom line is that it is absolutely unacceptable when an SUV or any type of vehicle for that matter can roll over on a flat surface - manufacturing defects are absolutely present.

Imagine you or a loved one is properly seat belted and your vehicle rolls over. Now you are facing complete disability as a quadriplegic. A Texas personal injury serving Texas and San Antonio is needed to effectively prosecute these types of manufacturing defects.

One of the most glaring defects is a defectively designed roof. A roof is considered excessively crushed when the crush measures more than 4 inches. The most amazing thing is that these roofs actually meet Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards, which represent the baseline. However, the fact that these roofs meet the federal standards does not pre-empt a suit for personal injury damages.

The history of standards on vehicle roof crush standards is very ironic. When the roof crush is designed in such a way that it does not exceed four (4) inches, a seat belted individual (or even a non-seat belted individual) would not likely suffer rollover injury even when the vehicle exceeds ninety (90) miles per hour.

In fact, the now bankrupt General Motors (GM) at one time possessed the goal of manufacturing vehicles that would not roll over up to 65 mph. Yet the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards were modified so that the Federal standard on the crush limit for roofs was greater than 4 inches. Thus, auto manufacturers like GM had little incentive to build SUVs with roofs that did not exceed roof crush limit of 4 inches.

With the rise in gas prices, the decrease in SUV sales, and the increasing emphasis on safety, one hopes the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration will lower the roof crush limit to a safe level. Recently the United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) has imposed much stricter roof standards, doubling the requirement for light vehicles weighing up to 6,000 pounds. Now, the roof protecting both the driver and passenger sides must be able to withstand a force equal to 3x the weight of the vehicle. For vehicles between 6,000 to 10,000 pounds, the roof has to be able to withstand a force equal to 1.5x the weight of the vehicle. See the USDOT news release.

These types of vehicle rollovers and roof crush are absolutely unacceptable, and a Rollover Personal Injury attorney can assist you with prosecuting this case with the right mix of investigators and experts.

Ebay is a global phenomenon. Recently, the sellers on such auction sites have come under greater scrutiny for potential violation of state consumer fraud acts including Texas. The relevant consumer protection act in Texas is the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act .

The state consumer fraud act carries a treble damages award, which means a victim can be awarded three times the amount of their actual loss. The law can be triggered when sellers exaggerate about merchandise sold online, through classified ads including Craigslist, and even flea farms or garage sales.

In NJ, the Supreme Court is weighing the case of a 1970 Corvette convertible , which was described as being "in good condition". After the buyer paid well over $13K for the car on Ebay, he found upon receiving shipment that the vehicle was undriveable and he wound up spending $40K just to restore it.

The seller sued for breach of contract, common law fraud, negligent misrepresentation, and violations of the Consumer Fraud Act. The lower state court awarded compensatory damages of $8561, but he also found the seller liable under the Consumer Fraud Act, trebling the damages to $29,953 and awarding $29,950 in counsel fees and $6,544 in court costs.

Under many state Consumer Fraud Acts, liability can generally only attach to dealers, limiting the law's application to retail and wholesale sellers. Yet many legal counsel in the consumer fraud arena believe consumer fraud acts should apply to "any person" who commits an act of fraud in the sale of a product.

If you believe you have been a victim of consumer fraud, contact your San Antonio and greater Texas consumer fraud attorney today.

As a follow up to our last entry on defective vehicle door latches in which persons are ejected through the door, San Antonio and Texas are seeing a rash of auto accidents in which occupants are being ejected through the vehicle window. The problem is especially acute in rollovers and other car crashes.

Why does this happen? First, the side roll down windows are made of glass that will disintegrate into thousands of small pieces facilitating ejection. Yet the fact of the matter is that the glass should possess an interlayer of plastic to guard against ejection i.e. a form of laminated glass. When auto makers do not employ this laminated glass, they place occupants at great risk of ejection - all in the name of saving less than $20. It is a design defect for which they should be held accountable.

In the last 30 years, auto makers have done crash tests on vehicle with unseatbelted dummies. When laminated side glass windows are used, the dummies are not ejected. Laminated glass side windows are just as safe as the older, more dangerous design.

A San Antonio and greater Texas personal injury attorney will be able to guide you through the tragic consequences of ejection as a result of the failure to use laminated glass.