Montero Rollovers
Mitsubishi SUV Rollover Lawsuit: Why Mitsubishi Is Liable
When a deadly accident occurs, often police investigators or third parties blame the driver, even when the driver was belted, sober and driving prudently.
In many cases, the reason why a crash proves fatal is actually due to negligence by the SUV’s manufacturer. It is important that you know why the SUV rolled over and your legal rights.
Mitsubishi Montero Rollover Accidents
Injured drivers and passengers have filed lawsuits against Mitsubishi for defects in its Montero, Montero Sport, Montero Limited, and Lancer. The lawsuits have charged that the Mitsubishi SUVs are too narrow and tall, elevating the center of gravity and increasing the risk of rolling over.
The lawsuits have charged that certain models of the Montero SUV had:
- Insufficient roof strength. During rollover accidents, if the roof collapses, drivers and passengers can suffer massive head, spine and back injuries. Additionally, the roof collapse introduces even more seat belt slack due to the reduced height of the occupant compartment.
- Lacked an advanced traction technology. Mitsubishi developed electronic stability control (ESC) in the 1990s. This technology enables better traction on slippery surfaces or during cornering. Whereas older versions only featured a slip control, the Mitsubishi ESC also had a preventive (active) safety function that automatically adjusted traction force. However, Mitsubishi did not make ESC standard equipment on all its SUVs until 2008. See whether your Mitsubishi SUV has ESC.
- Inadequate seat belt system that allows for a dangerous amount of seat belt slack to occur and when maximum occupant restraint and protection was needed due to the accident. In some tests, the vehicle’s safety restraint system introduced more than seven inches of slack to the lap belt during the accident. Experts have found this amount of slack to be excessive and unreasonable.
Submit Your Case
Lieff Cabraser has successfully represented persons across America injured in rollover accidents and other vehicle crashes in individual personal injury lawsuits.
If you or a family member have been injured in a Montero SUV rollover accident, or crash involving another Mitsubishi vehicle, please contact an auto injury attorney at Lieff Cabraser for a free, prompt, no-obligation review of your case. Or call us toll-free at 1-800-541-7358 and ask to speak with auto accident attorney Fabrice N. Vincent.
