You likely realize how many lives seatbelts save every day on America’s roadways. Since the days when cars had no seatbelts, vehicles have become so much safer, and the seatbelt remains at the top of the list of innovations that have let that happen. However, sometimes seatbelts can harm you as well.
You should know about seatbelt injuries and your legal rights. In some instances, if a seatbelt harms you, you can collect a payout from the company that made it or some related entity.
In this article, we’ll talk about some common seatbelt injuries and how to avoid them. If your seatbelt works the way that it should, you’ll never get into a situation where you must pursue compensation for the harm you suffered.
Injuries to Children
Many times, if a seatbelt hurts someone, a child suffers the damage. That’s because some parents don’t know when they should have their youngster wear a seatbelt and when they should put them in a car seat.
Virtually all doctors and respected medical professionals believe that young children should sit in car seats. They need to do so until they reach a certain age or until they’ve reached a particular height and weight.
Once a child no longer needs that car seat, they can sit in a standard seat in your vehicle and wear a seatbelt. Up until that time, though, you need to restrain them in a car seat instead.
Parents who put very young children or babies in vehicles without car seats and who restrain them with seatbelts risk serious injury or even a fatality. Very young children or infants can break bones or suffer lacerations or contusions when they’re restrained by a seatbelt that’s not intended for a person their size.
Know when to seat your child in a car seat and when they can wear a seatbelt. That’s one of the easiest things you can do to avoid a potential calamity.
Whiplash Injuries
Whiplash injuries happen in car accidents relatively often. They occur when someone’s head and neck whip back and forth rapidly and violently. This can occur if a car hits your vehicle from behind or you slam on the brakes very suddenly to avoid a collision.
If you’re wearing your seatbelt correctly, it should hold you safely in place when your vehicle and body goes through one of these sudden motions. However, if you have a faulty seatbelt, it might harm you if one of these incidents occurs.
Wearing a seatbelt the way the manufacturer instructed can usually protect you in these cases. If you wore your seatbelt the right way and you still sustained whiplash, maybe you have a faulty seatbelt and a lawsuit on your hands. You can potentially collect some money, but first, you must prove the seatbelt didn’t work the way the manufacturer intended.
Internal Injuries
Internal injuries can happen when you’re wearing a seatbelt as well. When they do, usually, you can blame sudden impact, just like what happens with most whiplash cases. Maybe a vehicle hits you from the side, front, or rear.
You might sustain damage to your liver, kidneys, heart, larynx, cervical spine, or carotid artery. In rare cases, you may even sustain life-threatening injuries this way.
Like with most other seatbelt injuries, this usually happens if you are either wearing the seatbelt the wrong way or you have a malfunctioning or defective belt. If you put a child who is too young in a car seat and strapped them in with a seatbelt, these tragic events can happen in these instances as well.
Chest and Shoulder Injuries
You might sometimes sustain a chest or shoulder injury when you’re wearing a seatbelt. You can tear a labrum or a rotator cuff. Injuries to the sternum might include trauma to the lungs or heart. You need those to live, so it’s obvious how deadly such damage can instantly become.
Much like the other injuries we’ve mentioned, you can avoid most of these situations if you make sure to strap yourself in the way the manufacturer intended. If you look at the directions for seatbelt usage when you buy the car, it should show you how to buckle yourself in so you’re secure but not restrained too tightly.
Abdominal and Gastrointestinal Injuries
Abdominal injuries also happen relatively often when a seatbelt malfunctions or you’re not wearing it properly. Ruptures and tears can occur. A gastrointestinal perforation can sometimes become serious if you sustain a hard impact that jolts your sternum while you’re strapped in.
Like the other injuries on this list, if a seatbelt harms your abdomen, you can probably blame one of two things. You can either look back and realize you wore the seatbelt incorrectly, or else it malfunctioned.
In the first case, you must blame yourself since the manufacturer did nothing wrong. In the second instance, you can blame the seatbelt’s manufacturer, and you can potentially collect some money in damages.
In situations where you can potentially sue a manufacturer that makes seatbelts, you must usually prove the seatbelt had a flaw and that you didn’t wear it incorrectly. That’s difficult sometimes. If you’re facing this scenario, you must usually hire a lawyer who can argue on your behalf.
To avoid situations where a seatbelt injures you or a loved one, you must follow the directions the seatbelt manufacturer and vehicle maker gave you. If you open up any car’s instruction manual, you should see a section dedicated to seatbelts and wearing them correctly.
If you adjust your belt so that it’s mostly tight but still has a little give, that’s usually perfect. If you have any dependents who you’re strapping in because they can’t do it themselves, that typically means they should have a car seat as well. If you’re unsure about the age or child’s size when you should switch over, talk to a doctor.
By following these basic safety tips, you should avoid most seatbelt-related injuries.
