Product Liability Law Blog

The SUV rollover lawsuit filed against Mitsubishi Motors by the family of TLC Singer Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes will go forward, says the Georgia Court of Appeals. The auto manufacturing giant had tried to have the wrongful death lawsuit dismissed because the company is located abroad and the accident occurred in Honduras.

Lopes died while on vacation in April 2002 in a rollover collision outside the town of La Ceiba. Lopes, 30, was driving the Mitsubishi SUV that rolled over.

Representing the pop star’s family in the case is Attorney Stuart Ollanik, a senior partner at the auto products liability law firm of Gilbert, Ollanik & Komyatte,PC. Mr. Ollanik says that the sport utility vehicle that Lopes was operating was not as resistant to rollovers as it could and should have been—especially because many SUVs that are now being made are “a little lower, just a little bit wider, and with electronic stability." Electronic stability systems can automatically adjust the steering and braking of a motor vehicle so that it doesn’t tip over.

Mr. Ollanik and Gilbert, Ollanik, & Komyatte, PC are long-term advocates of improving SUVs. Testing conducted by the law firm show that just lowering the center of gravity of a sport utility vehicle and widening the wheel base can prevent an SUV from rolling over. Many engineers and safety experts agree.

Mitsubishi has denied any wrongdoing related to Lopes’s rollover death.

Our auto products liability law firm is nationally recognized for helping injured clients and their families across the United States recover injury and wrongful death compensation from some of the largest auto manufacturers in the country and the world.

To watch Stuart Ollanik's recent interview with Fox Colorado News please visit: SUV Lawsuit Aimed At Improving Safety, MyFoxColorado.com, March 9, 2008

TLC's Lisa 'Left Eye' Lopes dies in wreck, CNN.com, April 26, 2002

Related Web Resources:

A Few Facts About SUVs and Safety, PBS.org

The Physics of SUV Rollover Accidents

Continue reading "Appeals Court Says SUV Rollover Lawsuit Against Mitsubishi For the 2002 Death of Pop Star Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes Can Go Forward" »

Posted by Gilbert, Ollanik, & Komyatte, P.C. | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Automotive Product Liability , Sport Utility Vehicle Rollovers

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The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety released a report this week that confirms what many products liability attorneys and injury victims have said about sport utility vehicles all along: If they were made with better roofs, there would be less serious injuries and deaths when rollovers do occur.

Automakers have disputed this claim for years and safety regulators, such as the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, have been slow to condemn the quality of SUV roofs without more definitive evidence.

The IIHS report, however, is definite about its conclusion that over 200 SUV rollover deaths could have been avoided in 2006 if these SUVs were made with roofs as strong as the best one the that the IIHS tested. “Strengthening a vehicle’s roof,” according to IIHS President Adrian Lund, “reduces injury risk.. a lot.”

The institute came to this conclusion after compiling data from 12 U.S. States and comparing the injury and death rates for four-door SUVs. The SUVs tested were sold from the mid-1990’s through 2004 and did not include models with side-curtain air bags or stability control.

Not everyone is convinced by the IIHS’s finding that improving vehicle roof strength is the answer. The NHTSA says that people not wearing seatbelts continues to be a major cause of rollover deaths. The NHTSA hasn’t revised its roof strength standard since 1971. It is working on a revised standard and estimates that this update, once implemented, will help save 13 to 44 lives a year.

Nissan, the automaker whose vehicle ranked as the “best roof” tested, says other factors, such as the seriousness of the crash, also affected the chances of serious injuries or deaths.

Roof Crushes
A roof that crushes during a motor vehicle accident increases the chances of passenger injury or death. Spinal cord injuries, head injures, neck injuries, traumatic brain injuries, and death are more likely to occur when a roof crushes into passengers’ bodies. Roof crushes are more likely to happen during a rollover. Because of the height and shape of SUV’s, these vehicles have a higher chance than cars of becoming involved in a rollover accident.

Our auto crash law firm represents clients injured in SUV rollover crashes and other kinds of serious injury accidents throughout the United States. We understand the nature of SUV rollover crashes and have gone up against some of the largest auto manufacturers in the world to sue for damages for our clients.

Crash-test report backs stronger roofs on SUVs, USA Today, March 12, 2008

Roof Strength and Injury Risk in Rollover Crashes, IIHS.org (PDF)

Related Web Resources:

Rollover Status Report, IIHS.org, (PDF)

Safety Briefing on Roof Crush, Citizen.org

Continue reading "IIHS Report Says Over 200 SUV Rollover Deaths Could Have Been Avoided In 2006 If Vehicles Had Stronger Roofs" »

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Posted In: Roof Crush , Sport Utility Vehicle Rollovers

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