Accidents
SUV Rollover
In 2002, rollovers made up just 3% of vehicle crashes. However, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Association (NHTSA), rollovers cause 33% of all auto-accident fatalities. Of these fatalities, 36% are caused by the occupant being ejected from the vehicle. Wearing a seatbelt reduces your chances of dying in a rollover accident by 75%. While anti-rollover technology has improved, an estimated 10,000 people are killed each year in rollovers, more than one-third of those involving SUV’s. SUV’s have the highest rollover involvement rate over all other vehicles, including trucks, vans, and passenger cars.
Approximately 95% of rollovers are “tripped” rollovers. A car is “tripped” when a vehicle slides off the road and the tires either dig into the soil or hit an object. SUVs are more likely to roll over than other vehicles because they have a higher center of gravity. Perhaps one of the greatest challenges is that there are no standards for adequately testing the crashworthiness of a vehicle. In fact, rollovers have higher fatality rates because vehicles are simply not designed to properly protect occupants in such accidents. Despite these facts -- and increasing gas prices -- the Bureau of Transportation Statistics reported that mid-size and large SUV’s still made up 26% of new vehicles sold in 2006.
There are two ways to establish liability for injury in a rollover accident: either prove that a person negligently operated a vehicle, or that some defect in the vehicle or the road caused the accident. When a plaintiff tries to prove a defect in the vehicle, this is known as products liability. It means that manufacturers and sellers are responsible for ensuring that products entering the market are not unsafe or defective. For rollover injury, a victim may claim that a defect in the vehicle either caused the accident or increased the severity of the injuries. Further, it is critical that the accident victim show that a simple adjustment would have avoided the defective feature. Proving a products liability case can be difficult and often requires expert opinions. This is why hiring an experienced personal injury lawyer is a wise decision.
Lawyers Who Win
[An MSU article featuring Craig Manchik]
Craig Manchik, ’94, managing partner in the Chicago-based firm of Manchik & Romaker, has been arguing his position since he was a child. Manchik recently won a jury verdict of more than $1.1 million on a difficult liability case against an Illinois municipality and its police officers. He agrees that you win cases by doing a thorough and complete investigation that includes lining up appropriate experts early so they can advise you in discovery.
Manchik’s firm concentrates on medical malpractice, nursing home negligence, catastrophic personal injury and wrongful death cases. To him, successful litigation hinges on the ability to be a good listener. Manchik believes “you must be in a position to feel your client’s pain. You must bring forth the passion necessary to convince a jury of the wrongs that have been done to the client. If you can do that, you have a good start.”