| |
CASES & INVESTIGATIONS |
|
| |
|
|
| |
GENERAL INFORMATION |
|
| |
|
|
| |
 |
|
| |
|
|
|
| |
 |
| Cars produced by American manufacturers and sold in the United States generally
do not have safety features that cause the window to retract (like elevator doors)
when they encounter an obstruction. |
| In European cars,
and many cars made in America and exported to Europe, such safety devices are
standard equipment. As a result, children die needlessly each year in the United
States by having their heads and necks caught in power windows and suffocating. |
| Over the last
couple of decades, 58 deaths and hundreds of injuries have occurred in the United
States because of power windows. A study by the National Center for Statistics
and Analysis estimated that 500 people annually are treated in hospital emergency
rooms for injuries related to power windows. In 2004 alone, there have been reports
of 7 children who have died from electric car windows. |
| Most European cars have an auto-reverse mechanism in their power windows that engages if the window hits an object as it is closes. American vehicles, however, are not equipped with such devices. Electric windows can rise with much greater force than is commonly understood. |
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
Lieff Cabraser Heimann
& Bernstein, LLP represents
persons injured in vehicle
accidents. Click
here to submit your
case. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Lieff
Cabraser has participated
in over thirty-five
$100 million-plus settlements & verdicts
since 1992. To read
a summary, click
here. |
|
|
|
|
| Furthermore, federal standards allow rocker and toggle switches for power windows. A rocker switch moves the window upward when you press one end of the switch, and down when you press on the other end. A toggle switch works when pushed forward and pulled back. Both can be inadvertently activated by a child. |
| Safety advocates
maintain that pull-up, push-down switches, also called lever switches, which
must be lifted up to raise the window, are safer. Children are less likely to
unintentionally activate lever switches when their head is in the window. Safety
advocates have sought the replacement of rocker or toggle power window switches
with pull-up, push down window switches on all vehicles. |
| General Motors
and DaimlerChrysler are now phasing in lever switches. Many Japanese and European
vehicles sold in the United States have for years offered lever switches. |
| Concerned about the number of deaths and accidents, Kids and Cars, the Center for Auto Safety and the Consumer Federation of America have petitioned the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to require automakers to provide safer electric window switches. |
|
|
|
|
|
There
is no charge or obligation
for our
review of your case. |
|
We
have a nationwide
team of experienced auto
defect and car accident
lawyers assigned
to our vehicle injury
cases. |
|
We
have retained leading
national car crash
and auto defect experts. |
|
|
We
have on staff a team
of
legal assistants, investigators
and nurses to assist
in the prosecution
of the claims of our
clients. |
|
We
provide individual
attentive service.
Learn
more about our firm. |
|
|
|
| To learn more
about this campaign, please click
here. Until all auto manufacturers agree to make safety improvements to new
vehicles and ones on the road, it is only through the filing of lawsuits by the
families of victims that change will occur. |
| Parents
whose children have been injured or killed in power windows accidents should click
here to contact a Lieff Cabraser lawyer. Alternatively, you may call
Lieff Cabraser partner Kathryn E. Barnett toll-free at 1-866-313-1973. |
| Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein,
LLP, is a national law firm of over 50 lawyers with offices in San Francisco,
New York and Nashville. Our attorneys are recognized
for the successful prosecution of lawsuits involving deaths, personal injuries
and property damage due to defective products, including in the field of vehicle
safety. |
| In 2007, in the case
of Mraz
v. DaimlerChrysler, Lieff Cabraser
attorneys, with local co-counsel, obtained
the fourth largest verdict in California for
the year. At trial, plaintiffs showed that
a defective
transmission was responsible for making
a Dodge Dakota pickup shift into reverse and
run over Richard Mraz. |
| Currently, we are
prosecuting personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits involving cars, vans,
pickup trucks, SUVs, the Yamaha Rhino and other
vehicles. To learn more about the firm, click
here. |
|
|
|
| Trademark Notice:
Vehicle Injuries.com is an electronic newsletter from Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein,
LLP, a national personal injury attorney | lawyer law firm. |
| Lieff Cabraser is not
affiliated in any way with any trademark owner. The use of any trademarks on
this site is for product identification and information purposes only. |
| About Lieff Cabraser:
Drivers and passengers injured in auto crashes and pickup truck and SUV rollover
accidents, or families of loved ones who died, may be eligible to file lawsuits
against other drivers at fault or against the manufacturer of their vehicle if
the accident was due to a safety defect. Safety defects can include a high risk
of rolling
over, tire tread
separation, seat
belt failures and other defects. Learn
more... |
| We have offices in San
Francisco, New York and Nashville.
Our car crash accident lawyers and auto accident attorneys have represented
clients in personal injury, auto accident, SUV rollover and vehicle safety defect
lawsuits across America, including persons living in Alaska, Alabama, Arkansas,
Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii,
Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maryland,
Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, North Carolina, North Dakota,
Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, Nevada, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma,
Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia,
Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, West Virginia and Wyoming. |
| Disclaimer: The
hiring of an auto accident lawyer is an important decision. Please read our attorney
advertising disclaimer. |
|
| Copyright © 2008 Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein,
LLP |
|
|
|