mr2mk1g 10 #1 August 11, 2004 I’ve got a claimant claiming he was ejected from the car he was in even though he was apparently properly strapped in. Anyone ever heard of someone properly seat belted into a front seat passenger seat in a modern car being ejected from the car? It was only a moderate crash, the car wasn’t deformed to any significant degree and the passenger side remained completely intact. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Remster 30 #2 August 11, 2004 QuoteAnyone ever heard of someone properly seat belted into a front seat passenger seat in a modern car being ejected from the car I remember some american cars did a recall a couple years back because their seatbealt buckles would release for no apparent reason.Remster Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PhillyKev 0 #3 August 11, 2004 Yeah, I've heard of it happening. Rem is right about the recall, too. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Newbie 0 #4 August 11, 2004 is he going for much in the way of compensatory damages? It sounds like it from what you have mentioned (i.e. seems like a low impact crash). I could also be completely wrong however! Any witnesses? "Skydiving is a door" Happythoughts Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mr2mk1g 10 #5 August 11, 2004 Yeah, they're after damages. Virtually automatically get 25% less if they weren't wearing a seat belt (legal requirment over here). In this instance the claim's based on a head injury received when the claimant landed out side of the car. Therefore if they were wearing a seat belt they wouldn't have got the injury at all and thus would get very little in the way of damages. I just get a feeling that this claimant is a lying bastard. Couple that with the fact that I can't quite rationalise the physics of getting out of a properly secured 3 point seat belt during a crash - the more you pull on them the tighter they get. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mcrocker 0 #6 August 11, 2004 He is either lying (he wasn't properly strapped in) or the seat belt broke. If the seat belt broke it should show some signs of stress before breaking. Have you examined the car and seat belt? Is there a recall notice on the car? I would think it would be pretty easy to prove if the seat belt was fastened before impact. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tspillers 0 #7 August 11, 2004 Bringing up my accident investigation past. If the seatbelt was connected and even came unlatched, there should have been abrasions on the shoulder, arm, abdomianl region, etc. If the latch broke, there may have aslo been extensive bruising in the shape of the seatbelt. Don't know if that helps. Maybe there are pictures or doctors or officers that remember. I am assuming that they are all better now and you can't see that stuff first hand anymore. Todd I am not totally useless, I can be used as a bad example. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mr2mk1g 10 #8 August 11, 2004 Yeah, I'm not worried too much about the experts reports I could have done on the crash - there's probably plenty of evidence out there to find if someone were to go looking. Seat belts also show a mark at the point where they fead through the buckle when you've been in an accident. That would be there if his was worn and is a cast iron indicator. Problem is that the costs of these reports would be disproportionate to the costs of the case and I'm simply not willing to incur them. I hate practitioners who are always running off to spend money. Keep costs down; keep things moving fast - the legal system's happier that way. Asking DZ.com is free - if you someone here knows people commonly come out of their seatbelts then I'll probably not bother running the argumnet... I just don't see how it's possible myself. See this person was asleep at the time of the crash... I know how common it is to take off a seat belt or at least the shoulder portion of it when people try to go to sleap. I reckon that's what happened here. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ACMESkydiver 0 #9 August 11, 2004 I'd agree with you and Todd about the markings on a person after an accident...I had a strap mark across my neck when I T-boned a car after falling asleep at the wheel... (Nobody was seriously injured thank God...even though I was going about 30 on impact.) Night shift pulling extra hours inventory in a warehouse then going home to watch my newborn babies all day 'til hubby got home from work. That got old REAL fast. It probably won't help for this case in particular, but when I was 12, I was the passenger in a roll-over accident in a Jeep Cherokee. As soon as we started to topple down the embankment I grabbed to hold on to something and ended up releasing my seatbelt.... Of course there was major head trauma, and my poor 12 year old best friend and her 16 yr old sister, who was driving us, had to perform CPR on me as my heart stopped beating while they were rescue breathing for me. Then the ambulance arrived to shock my heart into beating again...I can't imagine their trauma after going through that. Me, it wasn't so bad as I was unconscious and then actually dead for some of it, so no mental scars of that moment. As far as insurance went, they did decided that I was properly strapped in at the moment of the accident (a car ran us off the road), so insurance claims were for the full amount.~Jaye Do not believe that possibly you can escape the reward of your action. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ryoder 1,590 #10 August 11, 2004 QuoteI’ve got a claimant claiming he was ejected from the car he was in even though he was apparently properly strapped in. Anyone ever heard of someone properly seat belted into a front seat passenger seat in a modern car being ejected from the car? It was only a moderate crash, the car wasn’t deformed to any significant degree and the passenger side remained completely intact. Seat belts are designed to hold you firmly against the seat. If the seat-back broke, (e.g. from a rear impact), the passenger would no longer be restrained. A few years ago I saw an investigative report about the weakness of auto seats. In the opinion of the report, the only car-maker who was ensuring it's seats would withstand hard rear impacts, was Mercedes-Benz."There are only three things of value: younger women, faster airplanes, and bigger crocodiles" - Arthur Jones. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nacmacfeegle 0 #11 August 11, 2004 Was it a vintage car? some were only fitted with lap belts, and others with no belt at all. I think there may be special cirumstances for vintage cars. Dunno.....-------------------- He who receives an idea from me, receives instruction himself without lessening mine; as he who lights his taper at mine, receives light without darkening me. Thomas Jefferson Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FreeflyChile 0 #12 August 11, 2004 didn't Knight Rider have an ejection seat? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mr2mk1g 10 #13 August 11, 2004 Vehicle is 2002 model - would definatly have been full 3-point belt. No structural failure of seat or belt. Claimant just says they came out of the seat belt. This isn't an instance of something failing... they just say they came out of it. The car didn't even roll... and yet somehow they were apparently ejected from the vehicle. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Newbie 0 #14 August 11, 2004 weird - even if you don't believe him, do you have to go to court and say that what he said is the truth? i.e. however improbable, you have to argue that he was thrown out of the car even though he was strapped in? PS whats the extent of the head injury? Doctors notes/hospital reports/photo etc? "Skydiving is a door" Happythoughts Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
eeneR 3 #15 August 11, 2004 Unless he is one of those people that locks the seat belt loose? where you snap it so it locks and it is not actually snug? I know that you cant do that with most cars now, but im not sure when that started. My mom used to do it way back when, and i bugged the shit out of me...She is not a "Dumb Blonde" - She is a "Light-Haired Detour Off The Information Superhighway." eeneR TF#72, FB#4130, Incauto Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PhillyKev 0 #16 August 11, 2004 Came out like it didn't even unbuckle, they slipped out from under it? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mr2mk1g 10 #17 August 11, 2004 oh they're only looking at maybe £3-4000 ($7k ish) if they get everything. That's one of the reasons I'm not willing to spend thousands on medical or engineering reports. If they don't back down and accept a reduced figure I'll probably just have to increase the offer to get rid. (shhh - don't tell his solicitors). Its not worth the risk of incuring costs running it to trial. Things like this just comes down to a bluff in the end. I'm just wondering if it's even worth making the argument at all and thus incuring the costs of having to argue with the other side about it. We're gonna be responsible for their costs at the end of the day afterall. So... anyone think it's possible to just slip out of a properly adjusted seat belt? Or is this person a lying bastard? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Remster 30 #18 August 11, 2004 QuoteSo... anyone think it's possible to just slip out of a properly adjusted seat belt? Or is this person a lying bastard? That second thing you said....Remster Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Keith 0 #19 August 11, 2004 Was the seat reclined at the time of the crash, and if so, at what angle? One could slide out under a properly fastened seat belt if the seat was mostly or fully reclined. edited to add: What position was the person seated in at the time of the crash? Feet on the floor board, on the dash etc.? I've seen people sitting with the seat reclined and their feet hanging out the window.Keith Don't Fuck with me Keith - J. Mandeville Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JohnRich 4 #20 August 11, 2004 QuoteI’ve got a claimant claiming he was ejected from the car he was in even though he was apparently properly strapped in. Anyone ever heard of someone properly seat belted into a front seat passenger seat in a modern car being ejected from the car? I experienced something close to this first-hand. I was in an accident once where I was T-bone'd by a much larger car. The force of the impact made my car spin, and pushed me down an embankment. The combination of spinning and dropping, caused me to float up out of the drivers seat, and then the car rotated out from under me, and I ended up sitting on the passenger side! It confused the hell out of me. I was stunned from the impact, and I couldn't figure out how I got on the passenger side. The driver's side seat belt was still fastened in-place - but I was no longer underneath it. For a moment I wondered if someone else had been driving, and I had just been a passenger. It was very surreal. It wouldn't take much more to go from that experience, to being thrown out the window and ejected from the vehicle. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PLFXpert 0 #21 August 11, 2004 QuoteStrapped in but ejected? That could be understood in a totally different way! Ha ha ha! A dirty mind is a terrible thing to waste.Paint me in a corner, but my color comes back. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tunaplanet 0 #22 August 11, 2004 Not possible. Forty-two Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DeNReN 0 #23 August 11, 2004 Not possible??.....Highly unlikely but it is possible....a 3 point harness can be slipped out of in a collision...coming out of the harness and then being thrown from the vehicle in a collision where the vehicle dosent flip(etc.)....well......its almost not possible Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
