SEATBELT FAILURE If designed, installed and used properly seatbelts save lives. But when it works poorly it can cause serious injury and even death. Seatbelts are an important safety feature in all vehicles. Consumers depend on them to keep them safe during a traffic accident. Defective seatbelts may not properly restrain occupants of a vehicle due to poor manufacturing or design. After an accident especially when serious injuries have resulted, it is not always clear that a seatbelt failure has occurred. Some cases of safety restraints failing are not obvious because a small design or manufacturing defect could have caused larger problems. Examples of seatbelt nonperformance include inertia unlatching and false latching seatbelts. These are seatbelts that unlatch during a collision. Inertia unlatching causes the latch plate to pull out of the buckle. False latching will occur when the buckle appears to be closed but it is not. When a collision occurs with false latching the person becomes free from movement of their body instead of being restrained by the seatbelt. Cases involving inertial unlatching or false latching frequently arise when either a surviving occupant insists he was belted or when other occupants confirm that the deceased occupant was wearing a seatbelt. Other causes of seatbelt failure includes defective automatic shoulder belts that causes neck injuries and decapitation; door mounted seatbelts; malfunctioning retractor (these are seatbelts that don’t lock during a collision); and lap belts. When seatbelts tears or is ripped in half during an accident something has probably gone terribly wrong. Torn or ripped seatbelts might occur because of a defect or manufacturing flaw in the webbing. If you are injured in an accident but you were not wearing your seatbelt at the time of the crash insurance companies and their defense lawyers will attempt to argue that you would not have been injured if you were properly buckled. If you have suffered injuries in vehicle accidents resulting from seatbelt failure contact an experienced car accident lawyer to assist you. Evidence that a seatbelt had some shortcoming because of design or manufacturing defects is often delicate and can be difficult to detect. If a seatbelt failure is suspected, the most important thing to do is preserve the vehicle and the seatbelt system since it is extremely difficult to prove that a seatbelt failed without the physical evidence. A lawyer will investigate all aspects of your accident and injuries and conduct a thorough investigation and preparation designed to get you the maximum personal injury settlement.