Roof Crush

Roof Crush incidents occur in motor vehicles when the structure of an automobile’s roof is compromised. This might possibly be due to poor design or even a manufacturer’s defect. The cars roof fails to withstand a rollover accident causing serious injury or death to the cars occupants.

Roof Crush occurs in vehicles when the structure of the roof fails to withstand a rollover accident. Roof structure failure generally occurs at the roof pillars or the front or rear roof header causing intrusion into the passenger compartment. In many cases, roof structure failure could have been avoided if the manufacturer had used a better design or better materials for the vehicle. A roof structure may be defective if it lacks box section construction or reinforcements made of metal or foam. Poor manufacturing also contributes to the problem of roof crush.

Vehicle manufacturers are required by the government to meet a certain roof strength standard by using a static test. This test requires that the vehicle roof uphold a platen placed on the roof near the A pillars. It is well known that this procedure is inadequate and fails to duplicate the complicated loading applied to a vehicle during a rollover. Nonetheless, few manufacturers employ the dynamic rollover test which more closely approximates a real rollover collision.

Roof crush in rollover crashes can cause serious injuries to the head and spine of the vehicle's occupants. This happens when the roof is pushed down onto the occupant's head and neck. At the Newsome Law Firm we are prepared to fight for the rights of these victims - Contact Us today.

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