Seat belts are one of the most important and effective safety features of any vehicle. They have saved lives and prevented serious injury by keeping occupants stable. Seat belts work to prevent injury from impact with the interior or ejection from the vehicle.

When the design or construction of a safety belt fails, serious injury and death can occur. Defective belts may even be responsible for additional injuries, which could have been prevented by proper design and construction.

Seat belt failures

Lap-Belts: Lap-belt only seat belts have proven to cause serious injury and death when an occupant is ejected from a car. This occurs when they slide out of the restraint during a rear-end collision.

During a front-end collision, the occupant can sustain serious spinal and neck injuries from their upper body being propelled forward without restraint and hitting the interior of the vehicle.

Anchors: If the anchor is improperly placed, the seat belt will be ineffective in preventing injury.

Retractors: A defective retractor may cause slack in the seat belt during an accident, which also renders the seat belt ineffective against preventing injury.

Latches: The forceful impact during a collision can be enough to cause a defective seat belt latch to release.

The latch can release as a result of the forceful energy being applied to the buckle as the occupant is forced forward during a collision. This energy can release the tension from the spring in the buckle, which releases the latch.

Release buttons: During a rollover accident, seat belts that are designed with a protruding release button are likely to unlatch. This is due to the uncontrolled movement of passengers and objects in the vehicle hitting the protruding release button, causing the seat belt to unlatch and the passenger to become seriously injured.

Seeking an attorney

If you or a loved one have been seriously or fatally injured due to faulty seat belt design and/or construction, contact our experienced crashworthiness attorneys for a free consultation.