Woman Critically Injured after Rollover Crash on U.S. 1
A Palm Coast woman has been hospitalized in critical condition after her 2009 Nissan Versa overturned and landed on its roof early Saturday morning, June 18. The Daytona Beach News-Journal reports the 49-year-old woman was traveling northbound on the inside lane of U.S. 1 just south of Old Kings Road when her vehicle drifted off the road and she overcorrected around 5:55 a.m.. As a result, her Nissan spun out of control then rolled. Fortunately she was wearing a seat belt and according to the FHP report, she is hospitalized in Halifax Medical Center in Daytona Beach.
Let’s all pray that she makes a quick and full recovery.
Although we generally hear about SUVs with a higher center of gravity that tend to roll but this case reminds us that any vehicle is capable of flipping over. And when it does you want to make sure your car is well-designed enough to keep you safe and that no corners have been cut in its construction. A collapsing roof can easily cause traumatic head injury as can a defective air bag or a seat belt that fails to lock. The frame of the car should be structured together to be strong, not glued with adhesives, and windows should be tempered to preventing shattering. Edmunds.com reports that the Nissan Versa involved in this rollover did not offer antilock brakes (ABS) as standard equipment in 2009 but instead made the safety feature an option for a $250 up charge. ABS should always be standard, especially for so little difference in cost.
We do not know from this story what caused this vehicle to roll other than that overcorrecting began the chain of events.
If some safety feature of this car failed, Florida product liability law can hold the manufacturer, designer, and marketer liable for putting a defective vehicle on the market that caused injury and could be found to be responsible for compensating the injured for the cost of their medical bills, their lost wages as well as punitive damage. Farah & Farah’s auto product liability lawyers in Jacksonville understand how difficult these cases can be to prove and we suggest you contact an experienced Florida defective product attorney immediately after an accident involving a possible vehicle defect so witnesses can be contacted and evidence can be preserved.
Sources: http://www.news-journalonline.com/news/local/flagler/2011/06/20/palm-coast-woman-critical-after-crash.html and http://www.edmunds.com/nissan/versa/2009/
