Seatback Failures Can Cause Injuries and Death
Though still relatively rare, there have been approximately 50 instances of children being killed by seatback failures since 2001. Some of those fatal incidents involve front seats collapsing backward into the back seat during a rear impact collision.
Outdated Standards & Recommendations
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has required auto manufacturers to construct seats that are strong enough to meet their safety standards for decades. The current standards for seat strength have been in place for more than 50 years. Many safety experts have declared that those standards are not stringent enough. Some go so far as to say a lawn chair could pass the current safety standards. In rear-impact collisions, the weight of the front seat occupant can cause the front seat to collapse, which can then throw the occupant into the back seat area, endangering the rear passengers.
It has been recommended for years that children be properly secured in the rear seats. Some critics say this recommendation should be updated to instruct that the child should be seated behind an unoccupied front seat, or if that is not possible, behind the person in the front who weighs the least in order to reduce the danger of the front seat collapsing onto the child.
Seat Strength Data Often Unknown
Every auto manufacturer has its own seatback standards, and vehicle shoppers have no way to compare the seat strengths in different vehicles. The seatback strength is not an advertised or listed feature. Most car dealers do not know anything about seat strength. They will be able to tell you how comfortable the seat is or explain the in-seat heating but will be unable to offer data regarding the strength of the seat.
The only way to know the strength of a seat is to strip it down to its components or to crash test it. The testing option is only available to engineers.
According to statements from the NHTSA, the agency intends to elicit public comment on updates to the New Car Assessment Program. That program produces the star-based safety ratings upon which many customers rely when in the market for a new vehicle. There is currently no indication that updated safety ratings will include seat strength.
Congressional Recognition of the Issue
Two East Coast legislators, Senators Markey of Massachusetts and Blumenthal of Connecticut drafted a bill to force NHTSA to set a higher standard for seats. Even if the bill passes, it could take years for the NHTSA to amend the standard and require automakers to meet it. Still, experts in automobile safety are pleased to see any congressional movement on this issue. For years, petitions pushing for improvement to seatback standards have been ignored.
Seatback Injury Lawsuits
There have been hundreds of lawsuits related to injuries suffered due to seat failures. It is difficult to quantify how many injuries and deaths have been caused by seatback failures because often accident reports do not note that a seat has failed. The standardized forms filled out by police officers attending the scene of a crash do not have an option to note whether a front seat collapsed. The failure in reporting these types of events may be the reason that there have been no upgraded standards for decades.
While there has been a decline in injuries related to seatback failures since the 1990s, they do still occur and they are still a subject of lawsuits. Legal action, however, usually only captures the most serious incidents. If a seatback fails but does not injure anyone in the back seat, it is less likely to be documented. This is another reason the true measure of continuing seatback failures is unknown.
Below is a video from CBS This Morning on the dangers of seatback failures.
Folsom Personal Injury Lawyer
Thank you for reading – I’m Ed Smith, a personal injury lawyer in Folsom, California. Whether you or a loved one were injured due to a seatback failure or by an accident caused by a negligent driver, I am happy to offer free and friendly advice. I have advocated on behalf of injured Folsom residents for close to 40 years. Please do not hesitate to reach out to my office at (916) 921-6400 or if you are calling from out of the local region, at (800) 404-5400. I can also be reached via our online contact form.
Photo: https://pixabay.com/photos/seat-cushion-auto-accessories-1099624/
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