Seatbelt Defense May Be Red Herring In Brevard Rollover Case

I was so sad to read about this tragic accident on Grissom Parkway over in Brevard County.  The fact that the crash happened on the eve of Thanksgiving, made it even more heart-breaking.

A Cocoa woman was killed, and at least one child was injured when their Mitsubishi S.U.V. was rear-ended by Katrina Johnson, also of Cocoa, allegedly at a high rate of speed.  The Mitsubishi was hit so hard that it was caused to spin, hit a traffic sign, and then rolled several times down the highway.  The Florida Highway Patrol reported that the driver of the S.U.V., and at least one child, were ejected from the vehicle and received serious personal injuries.  The driver eventually tragically died.

As an experienced Orlando personal injury attorney, several issues popped into my mind.  First, I hope that the Ms. Johnson has sufficient bodily injury liability insurance coverage to properly compensate the innocent victims in this crash.  Second, I hope that the family of the accident victims were wise enough to purchase Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist coverage as part of their automobile insurance package.

Last, I am curious about whether the accident victim and/or the child were wearing safety belts.  On first impulse, it is easy to assume that the lady and the child were not wearing seatbelts at the time of the crash because they were both ejected.  However, many victims of rollover accidents are ejected -- even though they were wearing seatbelts.  Experience tells us that there is something about the forces placed upon the vehicle -- and the bodies inside -- during a rollover that cause the human body to contort is such a way that it can actually slip out of a seatbelt and shoulder harness.

If you have any questions about rollover accidents, or serious rear-end crashes, you can call Orlando personal injury attorney Kim Cullen, and have your questions answered for free.  Call Kim at 407-254-4901.