A family in Texas has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against GMC and another woman for a two-car collision that occurred on May 24, 2006 and resulted in the death of a family member. The fatal collision was allegedly caused by a combination of driver negligence and manufacturer negligence for the defective design of the GMC Yukon.

The original report states that the family was driving in their 2002 GMC Yukon on the highway when the defendant allegedly crossed into their lane. The family tried to take evasive action and veered off the highway causing their SUV to roll over. The suit states that although the family in the SUV were wearing their seat belts and were properly restrained, the driver suffered severe head injuries, proving fatal, while the other passenger was seriously injured as the vehicle failed to protect them.

The lawsuit claims that GMC was aware of the design defects of the GMC Yukon, but they did not fix the design or warn customers of the problem. It also states that the family seeks actual damages, which are a result of GMC’s manufacturing defects.

Car wreck attorneys are working on cases where fatality has resulted due to negligence.

A man who lost his son in an SUV roof crush accident in 2003 sought out the assistance of Oklahoma Senator Dr. Tom Coburn. Upon reviewing the evidence supplied by the man, Coburn discussed the issue of roof crush with Senator Mark Pryor, who is the Chairman of the U.S. Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Automotive Safety. A Senate hearing to discuss the role that roof crush plays in rollover accidents is scheduled for June 4.

Roof crush occurs when the weight of the vehicle exceeds the strength of the roof, cause the roof to collapse during a rollover and crush the occupants. Roof crush can result in serious injuries to the head, neck and spine, often resulting in death. Even though only 3 percent of accidents are rollovers, they have the highest rate of fatality.

Researchers have proposed that stronger roof strength standards could prevent up to 10,000 deaths per year from roof crush during rollovers.

Car wreck attorneys are working on cases in which serious injury has resulted from the negligence of automotive manufacturers.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) will be releasing a study that documents the need for stricter standards regarding roofs.

The study conducted by IIHS has determined that vehicle roof strength has a direct correlation to the survival rate of occupants. The study was conducted on 11 SUV’s and it states that the vehicles with stronger roofs have injury risks that are up to 57% lower than vehicles with weaker roofs.

Statistics from IIHS show that about 35% of car wreck fatalities occur during rollovers and at least 60% of those fatalities involve SUV’s.

Drawing from these statistics, Consumer Affairs has stated that if SUV’s were held to stronger standards, more than 200 rollover related fatalities could have been prevented in 2006.

Qualified and experienced SUV rollover attorneys are working on cases involving the serious injury and fatality of occupants.