By Personal Injury Lawyer on November 2, 2011
A man was hospitalized and is in critical condition after a single-vehicle crash Monday afternoon in Colleton County that left him trapped inside a pickup truck, report news sources.
According to Colleton County Fire and Rescue officials, the crash occurred around 1:40 p.m. when a small pickup truck traveling northbound on Green Pond Highway went off the road, entered a deep ditch and collided with several trees.
Emergency crews reporting to the scene found the man unconscious and trapped on the driver side of the truck with the roof pressing on his head and upper torso, compromising his airway. The vehicle’s airbags had deployed, and the man suffered head trauma. Using hydraulic cutters, rescue personnel extracted the man from the truck, and he was airlifted to an area medical center where he was listed in critical condition on Tuesday.
Being a Beaufort auto accident attorney, I am well aware of the types of injuries that can be suffered in a crash. I wish the man a rapid recovery from his injuries. Because of my experience as a Beaufort personal injury lawyer, I am very aware of the split-second difference between everything seeming fine and a terrible vehicle crash. I urge motorists always to practice safe driving habits and to stay alert to changing road and traffic conditions.
By Personal Injury Lawyer on September 28, 2011
Federal safety regulators are investigating reports of airbags on certain Ford Liberty models deploying in the absence of a crash, report news sources.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has received seven reports of 2002 and 2003 Jeep Liberty front air bags deploying where there was not a crash. Five of the complaints included reports of injures. The NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation has opened a preliminary evaluation to look into the reports.
In four of the complaints under investigation sudden deployment of the front driver-side airbag was reported. The other three reports say both the front driver and passenger airbags deployed under non-crash conditions. Six of the reports state that at the time of deployment, the vehicle was being driven on a residential road.
As a Sumter auto accident lawyer, motorist safety is something that I am very aware of; I encourage motorists who experience unusual malfunctions of their vehicles to report their experiences to manufactures and/or safety regulators. Because of my experience as a Sumter personal injury attorney, I know that the effects of a faulty product can range from inconvenience and frustration to injury and sometimes death. I hope that no one else has been harmed as a result of the possible airbag issue.
The Nissan Leaf received a five-star overall rating from government safety regulators on Monday, according to news reports.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s New Car Assessment Program awarded Nissan Motor Co.’s electric vehicle.
“The vehicle got four stars for frontal crash and rollover tests and five stars for side crashes. Overall, it was awarded five stars,” according to news reports.
“Standard Nissan Leaf safety systems include dual-stage supplemental front air bags with seat belt and occupant classification sensors, front seat-mounted side impact supplemental air bags, roof-mounted curtain side impact supplemental air bags for front and rear-seat outboard occupant head protection, three-point seat belts with pretensioners and load limiters, and a child seat upper tether anchor.”
The Nissan Leaf is the first all-electric vehicle to receive the prestigious award.
As a Orangeburg car accident lawyer, I’m glad to hear that the safety features are being implemented in electric vehicles. I hope car manufactures continue to have a high focus on safety, rather than only focusing on performance and style.
If you or a loved one has been injured in a car accident, contact a personal injury lawyer in Orangeburg.
Cadillac SRX crossover vehicles are being recalled because of faulty passenger side air bags, according to news reports.
General Motors Co. said it is recalling nearly 47,000 Cadillac’s because the right side head protection air bag won’t inflate in a crash if no one is in the front seat. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the “a right-side passenger in the back seat may not be protected and could get hurt in a front or side crash.”
The vehicles included in the recall are SRXs made between Feb. 2, 2010 and April 29, 2011 and sold in North America. Nearly 3,000 SRX models sold in Mexico and Canada are also affected by the recall.
“Air bag sensors in the 2011 SRX, an SUV-like vehicle that’s more nimble and efficient because it’s built on car underpinnings, are programmed to turn off the passenger side air bags if no one is in the right-front seat,” the agency said, according to news reports. “But that conflicts with the owner’s manual, which says the air bags will inflate regardless whether the front seat is occupied.”
So far, no car accidents or personal injuries have been reported in connection to the recall.
As a Greenville car accident attorney, I’m glad this recall was issued before and car accidents or personal injuries occurred. Consumer safety is the most important factor in deciding whether a vehicle or product should be recalled.
While we don’t handle this type of recall we feel that it’s important to educate the community that there has been a recall to help protect your safety. If you have been injured in a recall like this you might wish to contact a Greenville personal injury attorney who can help.
Honda Motor Co. is adding more vehicles to an ongoing recall to address issues with possibly faulty airbags, according to news reports.
An additional recall of 2001 and 2002 Accord and Civic, 2002 Odyssey, 2002 and 2003 CR-V, 2002 and 2003 Acura 3.2 TL and 2003 Acura 3.2 CL models brings the total recall amount to approximately 833,000 vehicles, according to Honda.
The vehicles are being recalled to address possible defective driver’s side air bags, which can inflate with too much force and a casing can break and cause injury or death.
Not all of the recalled vehicles have the faulty airbags. The vehicles that will need fixed are though that have had replacement airbags installed after collisions. Honda said nearly 430 faulty air bags were installed after crashes, but aren’t sure which vehicles received the replacements.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has already urged Honda to recall 4,000 2001 Accords and Civics and 378,000 additional cars, bringing the total recalled vehicles to 822,000, according to news reports.
Honda has already reported 12 in incidents linked to the faulty airbags, including one death and 11 injuries.
As a Charleston car accident attorney, I urge drivers with this vehicle to get it fixed as soon as possible to avoid any future car accidents or personal injuries.
If you or a loved one has been injured by a recalled product, contact a personal injury lawyer in Charleston.
Nearly 308,000 Toyota vehicles are being recalled in the United States to address faulty and possibly unsafe airbags sensors, according to news reports.
Approximately 214,000 RAV4 vehicles and 94,000 Highlander and Highlander HV vehicles are being recalled to replace a faulty airbag sensor. Toyota Motor Sales USA, Inc., said a total of nearly 308,000 2007-2008 model year RAV4 and certain 2008 Highlander and Highlander HVs are affected.
According to Toyota, “if one amongst the two sensors in the airbag sensor assembly malfunctions, the airbag warning light will illuminate and the roll detection system will be suspended. If both sensors fail nearly simultaneously after initial airbag system check, the seat belt pretensioner and the curtain shield airbag could be inadvertently activated.”
So far, no reports of injuries or car accidents have been reported in connection to the recall.
As a Orangeburg car accident lawyery, I’m glad Toyota was able to catch this recall before any injuries or car accident occurred. I urge drivers of the recalled vehicles to get this problem fixed as soon as they are notified by Toyota.
If you or a loved one has been injured by a recalled product, contact a Walterboro car accident lawyer.
More Ford F-150 trucks are being recalled to address faulty airbags, according to news reports.
Ford Motor Co. is extending its recall on its popular F-150 pickup trucks to nearly 1.2 million vehicles. The recall was issued under pressure from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which has received multiple reports of injuries from the defective airbags.
Included in the recall is all “F-150s built for the 2004 and 2005 model years, as well as part of the 2006 model year. Also included are 16,000 Lincoln LT pickups,” according to news reports.
The defective airbags can deploy unexpectedly because of an electrical short, potentially injuring drivers. “The wire can become chafed, causing a short circuit that can lead to the air bag inflating unexpectedly.”
NHTSA has received reports of 98 personal injuries in connection to the air bags deploying inadvertently. In January, the NHTSA said there were 269 cases of the deployments.
As a North Charleston personal injury lawyer, I’m saddened to hear that Ford wasn’t able to catch this problem and recall the vehicles before any personal injuries occurred. Ford will notify owners of the recalled vehicles to let them know when a replacement air bag wire will be available. It said it will begin notifications next month.
If you or a loved one has been injured by a recalled product, contact a personal injury lawyer in North Charleston.
By Personal Injury Lawyer on February 23, 2011
Ford Motor Co. is recalling nearly 150,000 F-150 pickups in North American because of faulty airbags, according to news reports.
Ford announced Wednesday that the government auto safety regulator, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, asked the company to recall 1.3 million trucks, but it didn’t think the vehicle recall was necessary.
The affected vehicles are F-150 pickups produced between November 2004 and June 2005 at Ford’s Norfolk, Va., assembly plant, including 135,000 trucks in the U.S. and 9,000 in Canada.
Ford said the recalled trucks could have airbags that deploy unintentionally. “As of late November, there were a total of 238 reported incidents that caused 77 injuries, according to NHTSA documents. Passenger vehicle airbags deploy with explosive force and temporarily cover a driver’s face,” according to news reports.
Ford recently recalled 363,000 F-150 pickup trucks because of a problem with the door handle, according to news reports.
As a North Charleston personal injury attorney, I’m glad Ford was able to catch this recall before any injuries occurred. Consumers affected by this recall can bring their F-150 pickup trucks to dealerships to get the problem fixed.
If you have been injured as a result of a product recall, contact a personal injury lawyer in North Charleston.
By Personal Injury Lawyer on January 19, 2011
Vehicles with good side impact ratings are much safer than those without, according to a new study.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, found drivers who are in a vehicle rated with “good” side impact protection are 70 percent less likely to die than those in a vehicle rated “poor.” The driver’s age, gender and vehicle type and weight were also factors in the study.
“Vehicles with good side ratings provide occupants with far more protection than vehicles that do poorly in our test,” said IIHS Chief Research Officer David Zuby, to news reports. He said the research is the “first look at how our ratings correlate with actual crash data.”
In 2003, automakers pledged to build vehicles that withheld side impacts better. As a result, 78 percent of current vehicles that have been tested by the institute have good side ratings, up from 17 percent in 2003.
By 2013 vehicles should be even safer, since an agreement with automakers and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration will require side curtain and side torso air bags.
As a North Charleston car accident attorney,, I’m glad to hear that manufactures are making their cars safer by paying more attention to side impact safety.
If you have been injured in a car accident, contact a personal injury lawyer in North Charleston.
By Personal Injury Lawyer on December 9, 2010
Volvo seems to be joining Toyota in the ranks of multiple vehicle recalls. Volvo announced another expansion of a recall, to address problems with a faulty airbag.
Fifty-eight units of the 2010 Volvo XC60 are being added to last month’s recall of Volvo models, including the 2010-2011 models of the S80 and XC70 as well as 2011 models of the V70 and the XC60.
The recall is to address a problem with the driver’s side airbag, which has a faulty clock spring wiring connector for the supplemental restraint system, causing the airbag to improperly deploy in the event of a crash. The problem risks more injury to driver’s involved in a car crash.
The Swedish automaker said it is expanding the recall because the XC60 seems to be experiencing the same problems as those previously recalled, according to news reports.
Earlier this week, Volvo recalled sedan and wagon model vehicles for problems with front passenger seat that allows passengers to move their seats too far forward, putting them at risk of injury or crash. But, that’s not the only problem with Volvo cars.
As a North Charleston car accident attorney,, I advise drivers who own a 2010 Volvo XC60 to contact their local dealers for an inspection. The problem should be fixed free of charge.
