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"When looking for an attorney, I couldn't find anything negative about the Rasansky Law Firm. When I called other law firms, I had a hard time getting through to anyone. The accident was horrifying. I lost my job after the accident. It was great someone was able to meet with me at my home. Troy eased my mind. I later met with Ryan, and he answered all my questions about my case. Ryan did a great job getting the best settlement for me."

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When Misjudgments of Car Crashworthiness Happen

According to the Fatality Analysis Reporting System, 34,017 fatalities resulted from car crashes and some of those are not due to user error. In fact, a manufacturer misjudgment of car crashworthiness could happen for many reasons. The National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) determines vehicles deemed safe to drive based off crash ratings tests and have the power to start a product recall on a car. In fact, the NHTSA's November '09 report placed defect investigations on the following vehicles:

1999-2002 Mercedes Benz Ml
2005 Honda Odyssey
2004-2005 Chevrolet Malibu
2005-2006 Chevrolet Corvette

The Objective of Car Crash Tests

A Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) test is used to determine the results of vehicle safety measures, or crashworthiness. This test helps crash experts understand how the car will protect the passengers of the car if a serious crash occurs. For example in safe cars, the front end is designed to crumple in the event of an accident. The result of this design is more space to cushion the passengers have to survive a serious crash.

Other examples of what the crashworthiness test determines include:

If the vehicle can protect passengers from serious injuries and if the car's cabin space is not invaded
If the vehicle's design does not present any harm during a collision
Vehicles are rated on test conditions including speed of impact, angle of impact, and the other object impact during a collision

Random Crash Test Results from Study

In a news release from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), three car manufacturers 2009 model cars were put to a test to see how well it performs during a crash. Daimler, Honda, and Toyota were chosen due to their front crashworthiness ratings from their mini and micro car models. In a series of 40 mph car-to-car tests, the IIHS found that the Honda Fit, Smart Fortwo, and Toyota Yaris were good in the frontal offset barrier test. However, they faired poorly in a collision test with midsize cars.

Other results of the crash ratings test included:

In a collision between the Smart Fortwo and a Mercedes C class vehicle, the Smart flew up in the air and severely turned around. In addition, the Smart's instrument panel detached and moved towards the car dummy. The IIHS rated the Smart car as poor standards. The C class did well in the test.
In a collision between the Toyota Yaris and Camry vehicles, there were extensive damage to both cars. The Yaris door ripped apart and the cabin suffered extensive intrusion. In both models, the steering wheel moved excessively forward and both dummies hit it through the airbags. However, the Yaris dummy endured a head injury, a deep gash at the knee, and heavy force on the neck and right leg. The Yaris received a poor rating while the Camry was deemed acceptable.

The Rasansky Law Firm is committed to being an advocate for individuals who suffer from injury or death resulting from a car crash that was a result of a unsafe car that should have been recalled. If you feel that you or a loved one have suffered due to product liability, don't hesitate to fill out our free case evaluation form. Our team of product liability attorneys will gladly review the facts of your situation.

THE RASANSKY LAW FIRM
2525 McKinnon Street
Dallas, Texas 75201
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1-877-405-4313