Car Rollover Accident Lawyer Los Angeles
The Salamati Law Firm has been helping rollover crash victims and their families in the Greater Los Angeles area since 2005. Car accident victims can demand answers or accountability by calling us at 888-259-4060 for an investigation of your claim. All legal assistance and advice is free – we work on a contingency fee basis, so we only get paid if you win your claim.
A total of 6,863 passenger vehicle occupants died in rollover crashes in 2014, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. The number of rollover accidents have declined significantly over the last decade, as auto design has improved, but we are still seeing a number of vehicle rollover headlines and lawsuits filed around the country.
SUV rollover
SUVs have been notoriously linked with rollover accidents due to their generally high center of mass, off-road suspensions, narrow axle tracks, and steering sensitivity. Historically, SUVs with the highest rollover risk have included the 2011 Chevy Tahoe, the 2011 Audi Q7, and the 2013 Mercedes Benz M-Class. We also see mini-vans (like the Toyota Sienna) and trucks (like the 2011 Ford F-150) appear on rollover risk lists.
SUV rollover statistics
According to the AAA Traffic Safety Foundation:
- Though relatively rare (3% of all crashes), rollovers account for 35% of vehicle crash fatalities.
- 3 in 4 rollover accidents involved high speeds of 55 mph or higher.
- Nearly 50% of fatal rollovers involve alcohol.
- 70% of rollover accidents occur on rural roads.
Truck rollover
An estimated 9% of all large truck crashes involve rollovers, according to analysis published by the Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine. “The direct cause of any rollover is something that increases the roll movement about the longitudinal axis of the vehicle, generally either turning too quickly or allowing one side of the vehicle to drop or rise suddenly,” they concluded, adding: “However each of these is primarily due to an error on the part of the driver, less often some other driver or condition of the truck.”
Of the 239 truck rollovers studied, they identified causative factors such as:
- Speeding or traveling too fast for conditions (108)
- Mishandling curves and poor judgment (77)
- Improper loading (23)
- Poorly maintained brakes (15)
- Being in a hurry or trying to beat another vehicle to a merge point (13)
- Slippery road conditions (11)
- Unfamiliarity with the intersection, causing sudden turns (10)
- Inattentiveness and failure to stop in time (5)
- Anger and aggression (3)
- Worn tires (3)
- Limited sight distance (2)
Rollover car accident injuries
In assessing over 100 rollover crash accidents in the National Automotive Sampling System Database, researchers found that there were five main areas of injury:
- Head and neck (60%)
- Upper limbs (47%)
- Lower limbs (34%)
- Thorax (23.8%)
- Abdomen (15.4%)
The study sample included 33 fatalities, which were largely caused by traumatic brain injuries. Lawsuits filed related to rollover accidents often list broken bones, deep lacerations, back and spinal cord injuries, and impairment to critical functions (like speech, sight, memory, and hearing). We see internal damage to organs, causing loss of enjoyment in life, as well as dental injuries, nerve and vein injuries, amputation to arms or legs, and emotional trauma.
Rollover crash causes and liability
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, there are generally two types of rollover accidents:
- Tripped Rollovers (95%) – the vehicle departs from the roadway, sliding sideways and digging tires into soft soil, a snowbank, a curb, a steep slope, or a guardrail. The best way to avoid this type of accident is to stay on the road. Newer vehicle technology like Electronic Stability Control shows promise in preventing accidents in emergency situations.
- Un-tripped Rollovers (5%) – High speed collision avoidance maneuvers cause the tip-over, which is most commonly seen with larger cargo trucks that are carrying heavy or imbalanced loads.
There can be many contributing factors in a rollover accident, including:
- Defective or poorly maintained tires
- Improper truck cargo loading or overloading
- Swerving to avoid an obstacle
- Speeding or traveling too fast for the conditions
- Driving while intoxicated or under the influence
- Distracted driving
When people think of a rollover accident lawsuit, they imagine an injured victim suing another driver, but many other parties can be held liable, including: auto manufacturers or repair crews, cargo loaders, employers who schedule drivers too many hours, individuals who provide drugs or alcohol for impaired drivers, people in the car who may have been distracting the driver, and government entities responsible for keeping roads safe and well-maintained.
Car rollover accident lawyer Los Angeles
Attorneys are a great asset in complex litigation like rollover collision accidents where there can be a lot of “he said / she said.” We’ll work with police officers involved at the scene, as well as car accident construction experts and respected medical doctors to build a case on your behalf.
Rollover victims may be entitled to compensation for:
- Medical expenses and the cost of ongoing therapy
- Lost wages and income earning potential
- Any disability-related expenses
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Emotional hardship and trauma
- Funerary expenses, wrongful death and loss of companionship/support/guidance
Contact The Salamati Law Firm in Los Angeles at 888-259-4060 or by visiting our office at 888 South Figueroa Street (Suite 1030) to explore all of your legal rights. We approach every case with integrity, diligence and compassion. Our Los Angeles car crash attorneys will work tirelessly until you receive maximum compensation for your injuries and losses.
Roll over crash resources
- AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety – Rollover FAQs https://www.aaafoundation.org/faqs
- Bone & Joint – CHARACTERISTIC PATTERN OF INJURIES IN THE ROLL OVER CAR CRASHES http://www.bjjprocs.boneandjoint.org.uk/content/88-B/SUPP_I/172.3
- CBS Local – 1 Killed, 8 Injured In Rollover Crash In North Hills http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2016/04/17/as-many-as-9-hurt-following-rollover-crash-in-north-hills/
- ABC 7 – Woman Charged With Murder In Fatal North Hills Crash http://abc7.com/news/woman-charged-w–murder-in-fatal-north-hills-crash-/1300952/
- NHTSA – Types of Rollovers http://www.safercar.gov/Vehicle+Shoppers/Rollover/Types+of+Rollovers
- Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine – Analysis of Large Truck Rollover Crashes http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3256782/
