In recent years, Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Imperial, and San Diego Counties have ranked among the most dangerous counties in the nation in terms of their vehicular accident and fatality rates. Being a victim in a serious automobile rollover accident has unfortunately become alarmingly ordinary for the average California driver. After being involved in a serious car accident , it can be difficult to sort out or recall the events that preceded the accident. The victim may not be able to recall exactly happened, witnesses are often missing, and physical evidence at the scene can disappear or be destroyed. For over a decade, Salehi & Associates P.C. has specialized in helping victims involved in vehicle rollovers move quickly to resolve their accident related claims and treat their accident related injuries when they exit.
Rollover accidents
Cars and passenger trucks are supposed to be designed for safety and stability. They should be able to resist a rollover and if the vehicle does roll over, extra precautions should be taken to protect people in the passenger compartment. Some vehicles, however, are more prone to rollover accidents because of the way they are designed or used. When this is the case, it’s especially important that the vehicle have a good restraint system and a strong roof to prevent cave-ins and head injuries. Vehicles most likely to experience rollover are SUVs, some jeeps, ATVs and buses.
Salehi & Associates P.C. has established a working relationship with a network of qualified and experienced medical professionals who can treat the victim’s injuries without any immediate out of pocket expense being carried by the victim. These medical experts help us evaluate the injuries involved, the long-term prognosis, any possibility permanent limitations or disfiguration, and how this may comprehensively affect the victim’s quality of life.
The High Fatality Rate in SUV Rollovers
Although only about 3%–4% of the crashes involving privately owned vehicles were rollovers, nearly a third of crash fatalities were in rollovers. SUVs have had the highest rate of rollovers, in part because SUV designs have the vehicle occupants riding higher from the ground, with a higher center of gravity for the entire vehicle. SUVs can tip over more easily than sedans, and they are more difficult to maneuver. Vans and light trucks (pickup trucks) are also more prone to rollovers than sedans, for the same reasons.
Catastrophic Injuries Require Maximum Financial Compensation
The sad fact is, victims of rollover accidents usually suffer from very severe injuries.
- The violent motion and tremendous force of a rollover accident typically causes neck, back and spinal cord injury.
- If windows break, passengers can suffer lacerations, life-threatening blood loss, nerve damage and scarring.
- If the roof of the vehicle caves in, passengers suffer crushing head injuries.
- If passengers weren’t wearing seat belts (always the case in bus accidents) or the seat belts were defective, passengers can be thrown from the vehicle.
SUV Rollover, Roof Crush, Fires
The high rate of injuries and fatalities that accompanies SUV rollovers is based in part on the fact that many SUVs do not have adequate roof headers, supports, and roof strength, and the roof is too easily crushed in a rollover. Neck, brain, and spinal cord injuries are a frequent outcome of SUV rollovers. The physical and emotional costs of such injuries cannot be overestimated. SUV rollovers also frequently result in a vehicle fire. When an SUV rolls over, its fuel line and/or gas tank may get damaged and leak gasoline. Horrific physical injuries are a frequent result of SUV rollover fires.
Pressure for SUV Rollover Prevention
For many years now, safety advocates have been trying to get the federal government to help prevent SUV rollovers by mandating several types of design improvements in SUVs and other passenger vehicles, including large (15-passenger) vans, which also have a high rollover risk. Unfortunately, the government has been slow to take action on such protections for Americans on the road.
Car Accident Lawyer
Our car rollover accident attorneys work directly with investigators and accident re-constructionists to determine based on statements, skid marks, and vehicle damage, exactly how the accident occurred, placement of fault, and what events and/or actions might have exacerbated the accident.
Salehi & Associates P.C. is relentless in its efforts to help you get all the compensation you deserve for your pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of activities, lost economic opportunities and wages, and medical expenses for any and all therapy necessary to help you get your life back in order.