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Chevrolet Announces Impala Recall for Seatbelt Problems

Chevrolet has announced a recall of more than 322,000 Impala sedans from the 2009 and 2010 model years.  According to General Motors, the Impala recall is limited to a small number of vehicles, in which there may be defective seatbelts that could increase the risk of injury during a crash.  Specifically, General Motors is looking for front seatbelt webbing that may not be property secured to the lap belt anchor pretensioner, mounted on the side of the seat.

According to General Motors, only a small fraction of the 322,409 Impala sedans included in the recall may actually be installed with the defective seatbelt.  However, the company has said that it will inspect all the cars in the Impala recall just to be safe.  According to General Motors, it has received at least 32 reports of cases where the seatbelt anchors were separated from the anchors.  However, the company has not received any information about any injuries or fatalities resulting from this seatbelt malfunction.

The company will notify all vehicle owners this month.  Impala owners, whose vehicles are included in the recall, are required to visit their local dealer for a free repair to their car.  According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, General Motors will inspect both the front seat seatbelts, and check if the anchors are installed properly.  If there are defective anchors, then the dealer will reinstall the anchors.

Seatbelts have been one of the biggest auto safety innovations of the century.  These have been responsible for saving hundreds of thousands of lives over the years.  However, when a seatbelt is defective, poorly designed or poorly manufactured, it can actually cause injuries to the person it was meant to protect.  Seatbelts can unlatch during impact, causing a passenger to be thrown about the interior of the vehicle or be ejected from the vehicle.  Other times, the webbing of the seatbelt may be torn or ripped, providing nil protection.

Other defective seatbelt issues that California product liability lawyers come across is unlatching. Seat belts may become unlatched, due to the force of an accident.  The passenger therefore may be at risk of being ejected from the vehicle.  Such unlatching of seatbelts is very often seen during vehicle rollovers.

Lap belts with no shoulder belts in the rear and middle seats of some vehicles, have been found to come with a greater risk of injury.  Some lap shoulder belts may come with defective retractors.  When these fail, they provide too much slack in the lap or shoulder belt.  Even a slack of a few inches can be enough to cause a serious injury.

Seatbelts that come with torn or ripped webbing can cause serious injuries.  The tears can occur because of manufacturing defects.  Other times, the webbing may tear when the seatbelt comes into contact with sharp objects during an accident.  In any case, a seatbelt with ripped webbing can offer no protection to a person and may actually increase the risk of injury.

The Reeves Law Group is a law firm with offices throughout California dedicated exclusively to the representation of personal injury victims, including victims of defective seatbelts. Please visit our website at trlglaw.com. If you desire a free consultation on a personal injury matter, please call us at (800) 644-8000 or email us.

The Reeves Law Group is not representing any party in the matters discussed in this posting.

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