Seattle SUV Rollover Accident Attorneys
Sport Utility Vehicles, or SUVs, are convenient modes of transportation that can accommodate a larger number of people than smaller-sized passenger cars and haul a considerable amount of cargo as well. However, for all the convenience that SUVs create, there is a considerable amount of danger that comes along with driving them, being a passenger in them, or being in an accident involving one. SUV accidents can often result in serious personal injury, up-to and including death.
While the number of passenger vehicle occupant deaths for cars has steadily decreased over the years, the number of passenger deaths involving SUVs rose every year from 1992 onward, up until a very small decrease took place in 2007. These patterns are undoubtedly emblematic of the growing popularity of SUVs versus smaller passenger cars. However, in 2007 alone, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety reported that there were a total of 4,951 SUV occupant deaths. Though SUV manufacturers have become much more vigilant in making sure that SUVs are as safe as possible, administering numerous crash tests to determine which particular problems plague SUVs the most during accidents, there is still opportunity for SUVs to significantly injure people during accidents.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety also reported that, since 1978, SUVs have had a significantly higher percentage of rollover deaths than cars have. SUVs are particularly perceptible to rolling over because of their high centers of gravity. Rollover accidents occur when a vehicle, often when attempting to make a sharp turn, cannot maintain proper balance, with the weight of the vehicle shifting entirely onto the two tires on only one side of the vehicle, resulting in the vehicle tipping over onto its side. Single-vehicle rollover accidents that resulted in death characterized almost half of all occupant deaths in SUVs in 2007. Though all SUVs are known to be more likely to rollover than other vehicles, it is the responsibility of manufacturers to ensure that SUVs are as safe as they possibly can be given their design. If any safety measures are not taken into consideration and made a reality, than automobile manufacturers are negligible in selling products that are safe to be driven on the road.
In any automobile accident, negligence can sometimes be distributed amongst different parties. In the event of a Washington SUV accident, negligence may belong to SUV manufacturers in addition to the reckless driver who was responsible for causing the accident in the first place. At the Bernard Law Group, our Washington vehicle rollover accident lawyers will approach your case in one of two ways. If you have been injured by an SUV in an accident, our skilled attorneys will find the driver of the SUV that caused the accident to blame, and will seek monetary damages accordingly to help cover the costs of medical bills, lost wages, and other costs associated with physical recovery after an accident. They may also seek damages from the SUV manufacturer for allowing a dangerous vehicle with a propensity for rolling over onto the road.
If you are the driver of an SUV that rolled over in an accident, then the knowledgeable Seattle SUV rollover accident attorneys will explore every avenue to determine if manufacturer negligence was even partially to blame for your accident. Please call us today for a free consultation, and we will make sure that your rights as a motorist are upheld in a court of law.
IF YOU, OR A LOVED ONE, HAVE BEEN SERIOUSLY INJURED IN AN SUV ACCIDENT IN TACOMA - CALL TODAY FOR A FREE CONSULTATION!
