SUVs, or sport utility vehicles, have a greater chance of rolling over than other vehicles. In fact, statistics show that rollover crashes account for nearly 33 percent of all passenger vehicle fatalities and that more than 10,000 people a year are killed in these kinds of accidents.

What to do after an accident

It’s important to take care of the person that’s been involved in the accident, but it’s also important to take action to protect your, or their, rights. Rick Morrison, an Alabama attorney, represents clients who have been injured in SUV rollover and auto safety cases. He provided the following advice:

One of the most important things to do is make sure that the vehicle is safe – especially if you think that there might be something wrong with it. You should also make sure that a vehicle that has rolled over is safely stored as that’s the most critical evidence in a case. It’s also important to seek out an attorney or a law firm who has experience with handling product liability litigation and primary auto product litigation, which would include SUVs.

There are many firms across the country who handle auto cases, but very few have the experience to handle a case like an SUV rollover. You need to make sure whether that firm has experience with SUV litigation, that they have a proven track record and that they’ve gotten results for their clients.

Lack of testing is a major problem in the U.S.

Most consumers probably assume that the major automakers put their SUVs through strict testing. However, as Morrison told us, that’s not always the case. He explained, “There are thousands of Explorers, Trailblazers and Blazers on the road, all of which were not built to be crash worthy or safe in a rollover. In fact, one thing that most consumers, and a lot of attorneys that we work with, are surprised to find out that the American manufactures do not conduct rollover testing to make sure their SUV’s are safe in rollovers. They are not required to do that, either. It is an option. They’re not required to do that by our federal standards. They can if they want to, but most choose not to.”

If you’ve been injured in an SUV that has rolled over, contact an attorney whose practice focuses in this area of the law and who understands the differences between the various makes and models of SUVs and their safety records. To contact an experienced attorney near you, please click here.