Despite technological advances in automotive safety, seatbelts can and do fail in car crashes leaving occupants severely or fatally injured. Some of the reasons seatbelts fail can be attributable to simple defects in design, which allow the seatbelt to become unlatched due to inadvertent occupant contact. Other reasons for failure can be more complex, for example, a manufacturing defect in the retractor that causes it to lock up milliseconds later than it should. In any scenario when a properly restrained individual is seriously injured or killed in a foreseeable crash, an investigation into how the restraint performed is imperative.
Injuries occur in car crashes even when the occupants are properly restrained. However, sometimes a restraint failure can lead to injuries that would not have otherwise occurred or cause injuries greater than a properly restrained occupant should have sustained in the collision. The first step in determining whether the seatbelt or restraint system failed is to talk with the occupant and examine the restraints.
Most restraint defects are invisible to the naked eye. The defects can be hidden in the retractor or are only apparent when examined by an expert in the field of automotive restraints. For this reason, speaking with the occupant about restraint usage is the most important step when undertaking this analysis. When an occupant is adamant about belt usage at the time of the crash, further investigation is warranted. Other more obvious telltale signs can come in the form of markings on the webbing of the seatbelt or a detachment of some component of the restraint system.
A number of different restraint defects can present themselves through careful inspection of the vehicle after the crash. Some of the most common defects are:
• Inadvertent Unlatching
• Inertial Unlatching
• False Latch
• Retractor Failure
Inadvertent unlatching, inertial unlatching and false latch are all types of defects pertaining to the latch plate, the buckle and the stalk of the buckle. This class of defect is particularly difficult to identify because there is little physical evidence left in the vehicle to support belt usage. Generally they result in the full ejection of the passenger and all too often result in fatalities. However, the defects can be easily replicated in testing and are known to be prevalent among specific automakers.
Retractor failures require a more thorough investigation inside the retractor of the restraint system. The retractor is the component that locks the webbing into place, tying the occupant to their seat when certain forces act upon the vehicle. The retractors are design to lock within certain timing parameters based on the vehicle’s movement. If the retractor fails to lock up or locks up later than designed, the webbing of the seatbelt can spool out essentially obviating any benefit the restraint to would have in restraining the occupant. Retractor failures can occur for a variety of reasons. Signs of a retractor failure generally present themselves on the webbing of the seatbelt.
Seatbelts are your very best defense in a car crash, but even seatbelts can fail. If you or someone close to you has been in a car crash and believe that there was an issue with the seatbelt, the most important thing you can do is to preserve the car in the same condition as it was in its post-crash condition.
Written by*:
Shalimar S. Wallis
WATTS GUERRA LLP
4 Dominion Drive, Bldg 3, Suite 100
San Antonio, Texas 78257
Phone: (210) 447-0500
Email: swallis@guerrallp.com
*This information is provided to supply information relating to restraint performance in car crashes, and should not be received as legal advice. Legal advice is only given to persons or entities with whom Watts Guerra LLP has established an attorney-client relationship. If you have a lawyer, you should consult with your own attorney, and rely upon his or her advice, rather than the information contained herein.
© Watts Guerra LLP 2015
