Ejection Accidents
Car crashes can range in their level of severity. When they take place at high speeds, the injuries that the victims face can be devastating. This is particularly true if the victim is ejected from the vehicle. Passengers involved in a collision can be thrown from the interior if the vehicle breaks open or thrown from a window after the glass breaks.
According to statistics, passengers who are ejected from the vehicle are three times more likely to suffer critical injuries or fatal wounds than victims who are not ejected from the vehicle. At the Law Offices of Matt Uhrig, our team provides compassionate legal representation to accident victims throughout Missouri. We have seen firsthand how devastating and life-altering this type of injury can be for the victim and his or her family.
Causes of Ejection Car Accidents
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, roughly 30% of all fatal car accident injuries result when an occupant is ejected from a vehicle. This is due to both the injuries that they sustain from being ejected and the increased risk of another motorist running over them. Although car manufacturers have improved vehicle safety substantially in recent years, there are still ways that occupants can be ejected, especially if these safety devices fail.
Ejection injuries can take place with virtually any type of vehicle. There are, however, certain types of accidents that make an ejection more likely, including a defective seatbelt, rollover crashes, malfunctioning door latches, and defective or weakened glass in the vehicle’s windows. If a seatbelt or safety component malfunctioned, you may have a product liability claim against the manufacturer.
Additionally, there are two types of ejections that can take place: complete ejections and partial ejections. In a complete ejection, the occupant of the vehicle is projected away from the car at the point of impact. This can cause the most serious injuries depending on how far the occupant is thrown, whether passing cars see the ejected occupant, and the surface on which the occupant lands. In a partial accident, the occupant’s body may be thrown through the windshield or outside a passenger window. This type of ejection is common with defective seat belts because the seatbelt may partially hold the body inside the vehicle. If the vehicle is rolling, sliding, or striking an external object, it can cause devastating injuries to the portion of the occupant’s body that is exposed outside the vehicle.
Understand Your Right to Compensation for Accident-Related Injuries
If you or someone you love suffered injuries as a result of ejection from a vehicle, you can bring a personal injury case against the driver of the car that caused the accident. In this lawsuit, your attorney will need to show that the other driver did not operate his or her vehicle with the appropriate level of skill and care.
Missouri law requires drivers to use the same level of caution that a reasonable and prudent driver would use when facing the same situation. This standard of care encompasses traffic laws and regulations because a reasonable and prudent driver would obey the law. If a driver was violating a traffic law at the time of the crash, such as by driving drunk, you can use this as evidence that the defendant was negligent. Missouri has adopted the negligence per se doctrine, which allows a plaintiff to assert a rebuttable presumption of negligent conduct when a rule violation is involved. If you are successful in establishing liability, you must next prove that the defendant’s substandard conduct was the direct cause of your injuries. Finally, you will be asked to provide documentation substantiating the amount of compensation that you are seeking in the lawsuit. Since ejection injuries tend to be severe and devastating, it is critical that you request compensation to assist with ongoing medical care needs and reduced earning capacity.
Contact a Car Accident & Personal Injury Attorney in Mid-MO
At the Law Offices of Matt Uhrig, we have seen how traumatic an accident is for the victim and his or her loved ones. As you cope with the pain that the accident caused, we can fight to ensure that you receive the compensation that you need and deserve. Our injury attorney proudly serves people throughout Missouri, including in Ashland, Jefferson City, and Columbia. Let us help you, too.