Car accidents occurring on Westminster’s roads and highways can often produce deadly consequences, particularly when they happen at high speeds. Many of the clients that we here at The Law Firm of Lan Quoc Nguyen & Associates have worked with who have lost loved one’s car crashes have faced the difficult decision of pursuing liability claims against the responsible drivers. If you or a family member has been involved in a similar event, you could be forced to deal with the same seemingly impossible choice.
Today’s cars, trucks and SUVs offer several advanced safety features, yet those features do little good when you or another is thrown from a vehicle. Ejections are among the leading contributing factors to motor vehicle fatalities. Data shared by TranSafety, Inc. shows rollovers to be the primary cause of vehicle ejections, with over 50 percent of such accidents resulting in an ejection. Rollovers often occur in vehicle collisions, yet they can also be the product of single-car crashes. Speed has been identified as the greatest contributing factor to rollovers, while seatbelt usage is shown to significantly influence the potential of an ejection.
If you or a loved one has been injured in an ejection while traveling as a passenger, the issue of whether the driver involved is liable for your being ejected may certainly come up. If he or she was recklessly driving at high speeds, the answer may be clear. Yet was he or she responsible for ensuring that you or your loved one was wearing a seat belt? California’s Motor Vehicle Safety Act says yes, placing the responsibility on the driver to ensure that all passengers over the age of 16 are properly belted in.
More information on assigning liability following a car accident can be found here on our site.