Roof Crush, Roof Strength and Rollover Attorney

Serving individuals and attorneys in Palm Beach County, throughout Florida and the U.S.

 Roof Crush Standards Fall Short.

Advocates push for stricter roof standards to prevent roof crush accidents.

 Preventing Car Roof Crush Accidents

Across Florida and the country, vehicles roll over in an auto accident and their roof collapses / caves in, causing serious injury and even death. Both SUVs and many passenger vans have inadequately designed or installed roofs – and the automakers are aware of it and often obtain protective orders prohibiting the public from seeing the results and findings. Even though the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration issued a “Roof Crush Resistance” Standard in 1973, cars, trucks, SUVs and passenger vans with weak roofs, flimsy roof pillars and other supporting structures have continued to roll off the assembly line and be sold to the American public.

When crashes involve roof crush:

• These rollovers kill more than 10,000 people each year – one-third of all occupant deaths.
• Seatbelts may become slack and windows may shatter causing a situation where passengers could be ejected from the vehicle.
• If the roof intrudes into the car space, passengers could be crushed or thrown from the vehicle.
• They cause serious catastrophic injuries such as head trauma, brain injury, paralysis, spinal cord injury and death.
• It is key to examine the relationship between the damage to the vehicle structure and the injury to the occupants. Crashworthiness and vehicle stability come into question. 

Despite industry research that has long demonstrated the relationship between roof crush / roof strength and severe head and neck injuries of vehicle occupants, the auto industry has been slow to address these findings with their vehicle design and materials used. Many vehicles have roofs designed to meet just the minimum federal safety standards, set forth in Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard ("FMVSS") 216. But a roof that merely meets these standards can easily crush 12 inches in or more when a rollover occurs.

Attorney Edward Ricci has taken on some of the largest vehicle manufacturers in the country for crashworthiness, roof crush, and auto safety issues. His law firm has the experience and resources to effectively handle litigation against the manufacturers of SUVs, passenger vans, and all moving vehicles. See case examples to learn more. Edward M. Ricci, P.A. will pursue justice in roof crush and defective auto product cases throughout Florida and the United States.

To learn more about roof crush, rollovers and auto accident cases or to receive a complimentary review of any potential case you have, please contact our law firm online or call us at 561-842-2820. We are happy to answer your questions about any injury or death involving roof crush, rollover, or crashworthiness.

Pursuing Justice.

For more than three decades, Attorney Edward M. Ricci has specialized in civil trial law. He pursues justice for victims in the areas of auto accidents, personal injury and wrongful deaths, and crashworthiness (product defects, rollover, airbag) claims. The firm serves consumers throughout the United States and Florida including West Palm Beach, Palm Beach, North Palm Beach, Palm Beach Gardens, Jupiter, Tequesta, Royal Palm Beach, Wellington, Lake Worth, Boynton Beach, Delray Beach, Boca Raton and Fort Lauderdale.