skip to content
WigRum Logo

Seat Failures

Most vehicles have front seats that have some ability to recline, either manually or electronically. Either way, seat backs that recline or move back during an auto accident may be defective.

Aop vehicle defects

If you or a loved one has been harmed in an accident involving seat back failure, then please feel free to contact our offices for a free consultation.

Contact Us Today

These seat failures are dangerous and can cause serious injury to both the person setting in the front seat as well as anyone occupying the rear seat. Often, victims of seat back failure crash die as a result of the injuries sustained in the crash.

Seats may be defective when they:

  • Collapse
  • Bend or flex severely
  • Do not absorb appropriate force levels.

Defective seat backs form the basis for a personal injury claim against the car maker as well as other potential parties.

Antiquated Federal Regulation

Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 207 is the federal regulation for seat backs (see, 49 C.F.R. § 571.207). It is more than 50 years old and is outdated by any measure.

Even so, most car manufacturers continue to make weak seats that collapse in rear end collisions. Even at low speeds, these accidents can result in severe and fatal bodily injuries.

Currently, we are prosecuting several seat back failure cases against Chrysler and Nissan. We consider the industry's blind eye to the realities of today's transportation dangers as they lean upon an antiquated seat back regulation everyone knows to be obsolete as another infuriating example of blatant corporate pursuit of profit over public safety.

    Experienced Seat Back Accident Attorneys

    Defective seat backs are particularly dangerous for children in the event of an accident, because infants and small children are often placed in the rear seat as a safety measure. The front seat that fails and moves backward in the force of the crash will often impact with a child who is sitting directly behind the driver or front seat passenger.

    This results not only in the child being harmed by the thrust of the car seat itself, but in being slammed by the full and moving weight of the adult atop that failed seat back.

    Wigington Rumley Dunn & Blair LLP represents accident victims who have been seriously injured or killed due to a flawed or defective product, including accidents caused by seat back failure.

    For more information regarding Seat Failures, please review our verdict and settlement history and read summaries of some of our past cases.