Suit: Prius Seatbelt Failed I remember reading an article many years ago that said 'fat Americans are weakening the seat belt retraction springs.' The result was the seat belt would hang in the door to be slammed when closing. This is not really news as much as the appearance of an ambulance chaser trying to pick Toyota's pockets ... again. I have sympathy for the injured lady but there are limits to what safety equipment can accomplish. Bob Wilson
I'm trying to figure out why this was filed in Philadelphia County Court, since it's on the MD/PA border south of H'burg. Probably Federal 3rd district? Even if true, it doesn't seem like fat people weakening the springs would matter. Isn't the tensioner an explosive device?
This is just a case of lawyers seeking the deep pocket. The claim that the victim is rendered into a quadriplegic means the lawyer is demanding millions of dollars for compensation. It would be clear that the driver of the other car in the accident do not have carried the amount of liability insurance.
20 years ago, billboards advertised places to shop, eat, and sleep. Now as I drive, most new billboards are advertising lawyers and cancer centers(!?). Correction-They are not advertising lawyers and cancer centers, they are recruiting accident victims and cancer patients.
That actually brings a useful question to bear: if the seatbelt retraction springs stop effectively retracting the belt, is it a warrantee-able item?
In my Gen2 the seat belts did not always properly retract which is rather annoying when the door clanks off the buckle. I'd throw it back on the seat & it would just lay there. However, they would snug up & appeared to work properly. Overall I'm not buying her story and, yes, I'm fat.
