SUV's and Fifteen-Passenger Vans - The World's Most Dangerous Vehicles
The Philadelphia SUV and fifteen-passenger van rollover law firm of Reiff and Bily has been investigating and representing victims of SUV and fifteen-passenger van rollover cases across the Nation for many years. Advertising would lead the average consumer to believe that the mighty SUV is safer and stronger than the ordinary vehicle and easier to handle in difficult weather conditions. Our experience with SUV rollover lawsuits and fifteen-passenger van experts and investigators have proven that this is pure Madison Avenue advertising "hog wash."
SUV's and fifteen-passenger vans are much harder to control in emergency situations on the road. It often results in catastrophic injuries of the occupants including paralysis or death. The SUV and fifteen-passenger vans are very easy to tip over because they have a higher center of gravity and design defects that create unsafe conditions in foreseeable road emergencies or maneuvers. Our extensive research has revealed that many automotive manufacturers knew about these defects, yet continue to sell these defective vehicles because of their high profit margin, despite a minimal expenditure to fix the defect that they knew about even when their own test drivers and experts were being injured during testing.
It is astounding that Federal laws do not require SUV's and fifteen-passenger vans to be as crash worthy or as safe as smaller passenger cars. The fifteen-passenger vans are extremely prone to tip over during routine driving maneuvers such as a sudden swerve. Like SUV's, these vans suffer from a very high center of gravity in a large rate, which makes them prone to tip over. Complicating matters, the fifteen-passenger vans are specifically made and marketed to carry large numbers of people and their luggage which adds to the weight of the vehicle and makes the rollover even more likely. This is particularly true if the weight is concentrated in the back of the van, the obvious place to put heavy luggage. Because these vans are large and the drivers do not require a special commercial driver's license, they were once the smart choice for millions of schools and church groups across America until reports of rollover deaths in fifteen-passenger vans began rolling in.
At the law firm of Reiff and Bily, we have had extensive experience representing injured occupants of fifteen-passenger vans which rolled over when being operated by an innocent driver who was uneducated about the dangers of the vehicle. Most often these vehicles are used to transport students and church groups.
Amazingly, SUV's and vans are considered light trucks which are subject to less stringent Federal regulations on safety and gas mileage. Congress has been lobbied by the automobile industry to classify these vehicles not as cars, but as light trucks. NHTSA has found that victims of a roll over are twice as likely to die or sustain serious injuries than victims of a flat auto crash. Rollovers raise the victim's chance of being ejected from the vehicle as a deadly result of a crash that significantly raises the victim's chance of sustaining a head or spine injury. These injuries are catastrophic, life changing events that can devastate a family and can render victims unable to work just when they start receiving sky-high medical bills.
If you have been hurt in an SUV rollover, you have the legal right to hold the manufacturer responsible for your physical and financial injuries and make them admit what they have known all along, that these vehicles are not safe. If you have been or someone you care about has died in a rollover accident, you should contact an experienced Reiff and Bily rollover attorney today for a free legal consultation.
