Florida Injury Lawyer & Attorney : LaBovick & LaBovick Law Firm: Serving West Palm, Boynton, North Palm, West Palm Beach, Jupiter

A West Palm Beach Jury awarded a couple $11 million in a Product Liability suit. The case involved the death of the couple's 25 year old son in a  2004 rollover crash. According to the Plaintiffs the death was caused by a defective seat belt and front passenger seat of a Mitsubishi Sport Vehicle involved in the fatal rollover.

The Counsel for the Plaintiff argued the seat belt was called an "energy absorbent" belt and was designed with an extra 10 inches of overlapping fabric, that could break and cause the belt to extend. 

The Counsel for the Defense argued the loop of material installed on the front passenger seat was designed to help protect the passenger from head and chest injuries. The Defense attorneys are appealing the $11 million jury verdict.

Thankfully the driver's belt did not have any extra material, therefore he suffered only minor injures.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's 2007 report of rollover crashes and outcomes, there were 10,553 fatalities involving rollovers in 2004. Florida came in third in the nation with 627 fatal Rollovers in Florida. Texas came in second in the nation with 876 fatal rollovers in Texas. California led the nation with 1068 fatal rollovers in California. Ironically, Montana led the nation percentage wise with 67% fatal rollovers in Montana.

Click here to read more of this case from the Daily Business Review and Click here to read more from NHTSA on Rollovers

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Rollover Accidents account for only 2% of all accidents, but account for 33% of all Traffic Deaths according to the National Highway Transportation Safety Commission.

The following is a breakdown of Rollover fatalities by motor vehicle type:

61% of SUV occupant fatalities occur in rollover crashes.

45% of Pickup Truck occupant  fatalities occur in rollover crashes.

33% of Van occupant fatalities occur in rollover crashes.

23% of Passenger Car occupant fatalities occur in rollover crashes.

30% of all motor vehicle occupant fatalities in Florida involve rollover crashes.

Click here to read more on Rollover Accident statistics from the National Highway Safety Administration.

Click here to read more on Analysis of Motor Vehicle Rollover Crashes and Injury Outcomes from the National Highway Safety Administration.

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In a recent Press Release from The American Association for Justice, the organization praises a report by the nonprofit Center for Progressive Reform. The report  "The Truth About Torts: Using Agency Preemption to Undercut Consumer Heath and Safety" suggests that the Administration has forced federal agencies to claim their regulations preempt state laws, despite lacking any constitutional authority. These actions contradict Congressional intent and, frequently the agencies’ own policies. According to the new report,  state laws are preempted through regulatory rulemaking authority. The preemption provisions are often slipped in at the last minute without any chance for public comment. 

Among the preemption measures:

• The National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) declared its rules on seat-belts and roof-crush resistance would preempt state common-law claims, despite previously rejecting the concept.
  
• The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) declared a rule on drug labeling preempted state tort law despite the fact that the agency had long held the opposite view.
  
• The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) also adopted preemption provisions, despite the fact that the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee had expressly rejected such an approach just a year earlier.
  
• The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) have been criticized for trying to preempt state law.

Click here to read the report: "The Truth about Torts: Using Agency Preemption to Undercut Consumer Health and Safety".

Key figures testifying at the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing this week on “Regulatory Preemption" were Georgetown Professor David Vladeck, attorney Collyn Peddie and Donna Stone, state representative from Delaware and the current President of the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Testimony from State Representative Donna Stone

Testimony from Professor David Vladeck

Testimony from Attorney Collyn Peddie

Click here to read more from the AAJ on the Judiciary Committee Hearing.

Agencies such as the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and The National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) set out to protect the health and safety of Consumers. Let's hope that the Judiciary Committee meetings help to prove this point loud and clear so that we can all work together towards the fight for consumer justice.

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