Lift Gate Defect

In a lift gate defect case, the rear hatch or lift gate latch fails allowing the vehicle's rear door to open in a collision. Weak and defectively designed latches may cause the rear lift gate or hatch to open during a wreck. When the lift gate opens, the vehicle's occupants may be ejected or thrown from the vehicle. Injuries to ejected occupants are often fatal or catastrophic. Because lift gates are common in family vehicles such as minivans, many of these injuries

After the wreck, the door is observed to be ajar or shows signs of damage from being open during the accident sequence. Lift gate failures can occur in many types of wrecks, including rollovers, frontal impacts, side impacts, and rear impacts.

Numerous documents uncovered during our work in prior cases have revealed that the automakers are aware that lift gate latch failures are injuring and killing vehicle occupants in many types of wrecks. Multiple stronger door latch designs exist and are equipped in many other vehicles. These safer door latch designs would protect vehicle occupants from serious injury caused by door latch failure.

If you or family members have suffered injuries as the result of a door latch failure, you need an experienced automobile defect lawyer to maximize your recovery. Contact us today.