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WILLIS
LAW FIRM
1221 McKinney
Suite #3333
Houston, Texas
Houston, Texas
(713) 654-4040
TOLL FREE
1(800)883-9858
1(800)468-4878
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POWER WINDOW STRANGULATION
DEATH LAWSUIT
ELECTRIC
POWER WINDOW ENTRAPMENT ACCIDENTS
STRANGULATIONS, SUFFOCATIONS & DEATHS TO CHILDREN
ACCIDENTAL DEATH FROM ELECTRIC WINDOWS
Every year dozens of children are strangled,
trapped, suffocated and killed by an accidental activation of the
electric power window in their car or truck. These electric power car windows
can be a real killer. It is a hidden danger that strikes without any
warning and its victim is an innocent child or family pet. The problem
with these car windows is that a child can inadvertently touch, step or
lean onto the power window rocker switch or button and the window will rapidly
raise into place trapping a child head or neck resulting in suffocating the
child (asphyxiation) or severely choking the child's neck preventing
sufficient oxygen to the brain resulting in brain damage and death.
POWER WINDOW STRANGULATION DEATH
The auto makers have known since the advent of the
electric power window that these devices can kill. Over the last 30 years, the
auto makers have been notified of hundreds of electric power window accidents
involving children, animals and adults.
As late as 2001 General Motors in it's
owners manuals (see Owners
Manual) makes
a casual attempt to warn consumers about children left in a car with the
keys in the ignition. These vague warnings however do not go far enough as to
warn the consumer of the dangers of power windows due to the
inadvertent activation of the button by a child resulting in a entrapment of
the child's neck, torso or head, strangulation, choking or even death. In
fact, no where in most owners manual does it even mention this a
possibility of death of strangulation of a power window to a child. Below in
the series of photos that show the danger of power windows and children.
Why haven't the auto makers printed a series of photographs to better
warn the parents of children of the power window entrapment problem ?
(The above pictures are the sole property of the Willis Law Firm-
Houston, Texas)
The power window in the photographs is
that of a 2001 Chevrolet Suburban. If the power window button is pushed
down or activated whether intentionally or inadvertently, the electric
window will raise from the open position to the closed or entrapped
position in slightly more than 2 seconds. Imagine how many of us as
parents have had our children in the family car, with just the key in the
ignition (to allow the radio to play) and we turn our backs for 3 -5
seconds. Power window entrapment and strangulation can happen to the most
careful and loving parents. These are not careless or negligent parents as
the auto makers would argue, but rather consumers who were never warned of
the
dangers of electric power windows. The real question for a jury is , Why
didn't the automakers design a power window button that went down instead
of up when it was accidently pushed or stepped on instead of blaming the
parents
of the child that was killed or maimed. The auto maker was in the best
position to fix the design defect of the power window problem, not the
consumer.
HISTORY OF THE ELECTRIC POWER WINDOW
DEFECT & DANGER
With the increase in numbers
of cars with power electric windows in the 1960's, so was there an increase in number
of injuries and deaths to children due to power window mistakes. What was once
a rarity is now common place. As early as 1968, consumer safety experts were
warning the automobile industry of the growing need form a safer design to
prevent needless deaths from the electric power windows that were showing up
in the new cars of the sixties. Ralph Nader in 1968 wrote to the
administrator of NHTSA demanding a recall of the power windows and to require
a public warning and an immediate modification to prevent accidental power
window deployment. No cars were recalled. The automakers were however put on
official notice of the problem when William Hadden of NHTSA called for a
Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) to be written to reduce, if
not eliminate the danger of power operated windows. The FMVSS 118
required that the power windows could not be operable unless the ignition key
was in the "on" position. Some safety experts had urged a tougher
standard which would have required an auto reverse or auto interrrupt switch
to be installed which would immediately stop and reverse the direction of the window
to the down position. This requirement also failed to pass, citing techincal
challenges to overcome. (Remember this is the same year NASA landed on the
moon and safely returned three astonaunts home.) In 2004, many auto
makers including General Motors Corporation installed the new lift style
power window buttons.The new version should drastically reduce the numbers
of
accidental deaths due to entrapment and strangulations in power electric
windows. (See page 2)
POWER WINDOW INJURY / DEATH LAWSUIT
 If a
loved one has suffered a serious injury or accidental death as a result an electric power
window strangulation or entrapment, then you may have a right to file a
products liability lawsuit case against the negligent auto maker. Call now and
get your questions answered. Talk to a Board Certified Personal Injury Trial
Lawyer FREE
CONFIDENTIAL CONSULTATION at 1-800-883-9858 or 1-800-468-4878
(Toll Free)
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 If
you or a loved one have been seriously injured then call us for
a Free Initial Consultation. Talk to a Board Certified Personal
Injury Trial Lawyer in Texas with over 20 years of personal
injury and wrongful death lawsuit experience. Know your rights
under the law. Call to find out your rights to a personal injury
claim,
wrongful death lawsuit or other legal action. Call Now or E-mail
us.
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what other personal injury and wrongful death damages can a jury
award in a personal injury claim or a wrongful death lawsuit.?
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