Defective Buckles, Seat belt Buckle Injuries, Deaths Lawsuits. Talk to a Lawyer about a Seat Belt Injury Lawsuit

This website dealing with defective seat belt buckles, defective lap belts, center position lap only seatbelts, inertial release separation of buckle, the Chrysler Gen 3 buckle failure, and opening, Takata buckle failures, manual lap belt with automatic belt or motorized belts,excessive shoulder belt slack injuries, paraplegia, quadriplegia, spinal cord injuries, wrongful death cases against seat belt Takata Seat Belt Buckle Recall, Takata Seat Belt Buckle Defects, Takata seat belt buckle, takata buckle, recall, Takata Corporation, seat belt buckle, latch plate, button, plastic, injuries, injury, death, lawyer, attorney, abogado, lawsuit, nhtsa, honda, nissan, suzuki, ford, gm

Takata Seat Belt Buckle Recall, Takata Seat Belt Buckle Defects, Takata seat belt buckle, takata buckle, recall, Takata Corporation, seat belt buckle, latch plate, button, plastic, injuries, injury, death, lawyer, attorney, abogado, lawsuit, nhtsa, honda, nissan, suzuki, ford, gm

manufacturers, takata buckle recall, shoulder only belts, automatic belt injuries, track mounted belt injuries and ejections, window shade and comfort feature injuries, torn seat belts, headrest and seatback failures.

During a collision, the vehicle and its occupants are subject to potentially destructive forces. A crashworthy design minimizes the destructive effect of these forces by distributing them over as great a period of time as possible, over as large a surface area as possible and to parts of the body that are more capable of withstanding such forces. Crashworthiness cases typically involve the failure to one or more components to meet these basic design objectives. Seatbelts perform a central role in occupant protection. Properly designed seatbelts should restrain the occupant by preventing ejection and minimizing the occupant's violent movement within the vehicle during the crash event. Unquestionably, seatbelts have saved thousands of lives. With the introduction of mandatory usage laws, many more Americans are now wearing seatbelts compared to prior decades. As a consequence of more frequent usage, design flaws in seatbelts have become apparent.

Over 100 million cars in America have seatbelts with the release button on the front face of the buckle. In some frontal collisions, rollovers and side impacts, the release mechanism can be inertially disengaged when the back of the buckle hits part of the seat structure or of the human body. Inertial unlatching occurs when the seat belt becomes unlatched during a collision, allowing the latch plate to pull out of the buckle. Manufacturers are reluctant to admit the existence of this defect. However, in Malone vs.. General Motors, crash tests videos were introduced into evidence which demonstrated seatbelt unlatching in internal tests conducted by General Motors.In recent years, there have been several landmark cases against American and Japanese manufacturers for this defect. During the wreck/impact many types of seat belt buckles can inertially release and come open, subjecting the occupants to untold dangers. This inertial release happens as a result of inertia force or energy being applied to the back of the buckle in the form of the forward movement of the occupant into the buckle. When the inertial energy is transformed into the spring of the buckle, it releases the tension on the latch plate, allowing it to come open.

Relatively low forces during a wreck can cause the button to depress, permitting the latch plate to be free. On a side release button buckle, the inertial release happens as a result of inertia force or energy being applied to the back of the buckle in the form of the forward movement of the occupant into the buckle. When the inertial energy is transformed into the spring of the buckle, it releases the tension on the latch plate, allowing it to come open The impact of the pelvis or other hard body part, sends a shove wave or vibration to the spring under load, resulting in a vibration resulting in the buckle inertially releasing. When this happens, the occupant is then as if he wasn’t belted at all. Many times after a serious automobile crash, the occupants are told that they were not wearing the seatbelts, when in fact they specifically remember having them on or they are so injured that they can’t remember. This often happens when the investigating officer finds the occupant either thrown from the vehicle or in a position other than where they were seated. Relatively low forces during a wreck can cause the button to depress, permitting the latch plate to slip out while under load, subjecting the now unbelted occupant to injury, ejection or even death

Chrysler GEN3 Seatbelt Buckles are contained in 14 Million 1993-2002 Chrysler Vehicles. The GEN-3 Buckle appears to be defective and dangerous and should be recalled. On the Gen3 buckle, the release button is raised above the cover, which makes it prone to accidental release during collisions The Gen3 buckle can inadvertently release in a crash from contact from an object, elbow, car seat, child carrier or other object during the crash. In some cases it may inadvertently release before the collision as well. The Gen3 buckle has certain design characteristics that set it apart from other buckles. Other buckles have a release button that is flush with the outside cover, which protects the buckles from accidental release or inadvertent actuation during a collision.

The Center for Auto Safety on March 8, 2002 called on Daimler Chrysler to recall 14 million vehicles with Gen 3 seatbelt buckles that can inadvertently release in a crash due to a release button that protrudes too high and fails a simple safety test that other manufacturers' seatbelt buckles pass.The problem is that the protruding release button can be hit or bumped by an elbow, a child seat or other object in a crash and release. According to CAS Executive Director, Clarence Ditlow, the defect can be deadly and escapes detection because after the crash it looks like the occupant was not wearing a seat belt. Mr. Ditlow said: "Seat belts are your last line of defense in a crash and should never fail. Yet Chrysler's Gen 3 seatbelt buckles are like a perfect crime because dead men tell no tales. After a fatal crash, the occupant is not alive to say the buckle came apart. The Center calls on DaimlerChrysler to recall all Gen 3 seatbelt buckles and replace them with the safer Gen 4 buckle."

Takata Seat Belt Buckle Recall, Takata Seat Belt Buckle Defects, Takata seat belt buckle, takata buckle, recall, Takata Corporation, seat belt buckle, latch plate, button, plastic, injuries, injury, death, lawyer, attorney, abogado, lawsuit, nhtsa, honda, nissan, suzuki, ford, gm On May 23, 1995 it was announced that over eight million vehicles seat belt buckles were to be replaced or repaired under a voluntary safety recall campaign conducted by Honda, Mazda, Nissan, Mitsubishi, Daihatsu, Ford, Subaru, Suzuki, Isuzu, General Motors, Geo, Chrysler, and U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) and National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA). The Takata seat belt buckles manufactured by Takata Corporation were used in nearly in all the FRONT seats and some BACK seats of nine million cars, trucks and sport utility vehicles (SUV) between 1986 and 1991. The investigation revealed that the Takata buckles' release buttons have broken or cracked rendering it in a dangerous condition. If the buckles' release button cracks or breaks off, then the buckle may false latch, inadvertently unlatch, fail under a load, partially unlatch , become inoperative and not latch at all. There have been more than 700 complaints that the Takata belt buckles that have jammed or failed to lock or unlock. Some consumers indicated that the orange plastic piece of the belt button had chipped off and fallen into the buckle, jamming it. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has recorded 539 consumer complaints and 47 injuries but no deaths because of the seat belt problem. Most of the seat belts were installed in vehicles made by Honda and Nissan.

PLEASE NOTE: The statements and information provided on this web site are for the informational purposes only. This law firm is not affiliated in any way with any trademark owner. The use of any trademarks on this site is for product identification and information purposes only. This webpage is provided to you to assist in information about seat belt injuries, seatbelt deaths, seat belt defects, rear seat or center seat lap only belt injury, lawsuits, seat belt buckle failure, buckle opening, NHTSA recall, torn webbing, seat belt recalls, seatbelt retractors, plastic buckle housing defects, problems with the tall end release buttons on the Generation 3 or Gen 3 seat belt buckle button on some Chrysler vehicles, lap belt injury, excessive slack in belt webbing, automatic belt injuries,and other seat belt defects and failures.This site is not intended to provide legal advice to the reader and NO attorney-client relationship shall be deemed to arise from the receipt this page and/or its associated pages or any oral or e-mail communication to or from with the Willis Law Firm. There will be NO lawsuits filed, claims made, letters or phone calls made for a prospective client, until that person is represented by the firm. An attorney client relationship only arises after the attorney and client have signed a written attorney client contract.

Mr. Willis is licensed attorney in New York and Texas. He is a Board Certified in Personal Injury Trial Lawyer, certified by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. Read more about Board Certification, Click Here. Principle office is Houston, Texas.

Mr. Willis has represented clients in personal injury, auto accident, seat belt defects, suv rollover, van & truck rollovers and other product liability and negligence cases from across the United States, including clients from Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, North Carolina, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, Nevada, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin & West Virginia.

Further, any statement or reference to past personal injury, products liability or other lawsuits, settlements or verdicts should NOT be relied upon in one's own case or in your decision on which law firm to hire. All client's cases, facts, injuries, damages, venues and lawsuits are different and there is NO way to predict the outcome of a particular case, verdict of a jury or judge or the strength of a case before a judge, jury or the appellate court system. The client is responsible for all of their own medical expenses. All cases are handled on a contingent fee basis. NO attorneys fees or case costs charged to client, unless a recovery is made for the client. Often in very serious and catastrophic injury and death cases Mr. Willis may associate with another products liability attorney as co-counsel and in other matters, the case may be referred. In cases where a legal matter is referred, Mr. Willis will continue to maintain joint responsibility with the handling attorney or lead counsel and actively monitor the progress and development of the case. Due to his 22+ years of experience in personal injury and products liability cases, Mr. Willis will often continue to assist in working with the hired experts and engineers and in research of the defective product or other related legal matters in the case.