Vehicle Rollovers
Rollover crashes occur when the first (and often the only) impacting event is the rollover of the vehicle, rather than a collision with another vehicle or other object. In fact, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), nearly 85% of all rollover-related fatalities are the result of single-vehicle crashes.
Any type of vehicle can be
involved in a rollover, but due to their high center of
gravity, light trucks, such as pickups, vans, and sport
utility vehicles (SUVs) are most prone to rollover
accidents, and fully-loaded 15-passenger vans are
especially vulnerable.
Because these vehicles
handle much differently
than regular passenger
cars, sharp turns or
other sudden maneuvers
may increase the
likelihood of rollover.
Additional weight on top
of the vehicle, such as
bicycle racks, may also
be a factor in rollover
accidents.
In addition to vehicle type, driver age, skill, and behavior may contribute to vehicle rollovers, along with road and weather conditions. The majority of fatal rollovers occur in rural areas with posted speed limits of 55 miles per hour or faster. Not surprisingly, 50 percent of all fatal rollover accidents involve the use of alcohol, and 72 percent of people who died in rollover accidents in 2002 were not wearing seatbelts.
Rollover accidents are among the deadliest of all vehicle accidents. Although rollovers accounted for only 3% of the nearly 11 million crashes involving passenger vehicles in 2002, they accounted for nearly 33% of all deaths from those crashes. Even non-fatal rollover accidents may result in extreme injuries due to the violence of crash.
At the Law Offices of Vincent J. Ciecka, P.C. we highly specialize and been very successful in obtaining high recoveries in vehicle rollover injury related cases. If you have a situation where you or someone you know might be a victim of this type of injury due to the negligence of someone else, please contact us as soon as possible to discuss your specifics and help you determine if indeed you have a case so you can obtain due compensation for such injuries.
