Clicking on your seat belt each time you slide behind the wheel gives you a sense of security – if you were to get into a serious accident, such as a rollover accident, your seat belt system would prevent you from slamming into the windshield, hitting the roof of your car, or even being ejected from your vehicle. But… could your seat belt be defective? Could it fail when put to the test?

Unfortunately, while seat belts are the premier safety feature in any car and while buckling your seat belt is the single best action you can take to prevent car accident injuries, not all seat belts work properly and some can fail altogether when you need them most.

Just a few months ago, a family settled a defective seat belt lawsuit with Ford Motor Company for an undisclosed amount of money. In that case, a man was driving his Ford Explorer when he lost control of the vehicle and it flipped over several times. Even though the car accident victim was wearing his seat belt, the restraint system failed and the man died after being thrown from the car. Evidence showed that even though he was buckled up, his seat belt was not effective.

What goes wrong when a car restraint system fails? In some cases, the seat belt design is poor, while in other cases, the seat belts are defective because of a manufacturing or installation mistake. One common seat belt defect involves a failure to hold, in which the actual buckle of the seat belt can’t withstand the force of an accident. Another common seat belt defect involves internal unlatching, in which the seat belt is released due to a latching defect.

What should you do if you have been injured because of a defective seat belt or if a loved one has been killed in a car accident involving a defective seat belt? Talk to a St. Louis defective product attorney today about your case.