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INJURY LAW

Read a guide to the legal rights of the injured.

SUBMIT YOUR CASE

Lieff Cabraser represents people injured in car, SUV and other vehicle accidents. Click here to submit your case.

VIDEO

Lieff Cabraser attorneys Robert J. Nelson and Scott Nealey discuss a wrongful death lawsuit based on a transmission defect in millions of Chrysler vehicles.

2007 NHTSA SUV Rollover Safety Ratings

SUVs and pickup trucks have higher fatality rates for their occupants than passenger cars, and substantially higher death rates than minivans.

In 2002, 10,666 people were killed in rollover crashes, up five percent from 2001. Sixty-one percent of all persons killed in sport utility vehicles (SUV) crashes and 45 percent of persons killed in pickup truck accidents were the result of rollover crashes. By comparison, only 22 percent of passenger car fatalities in 2002 were the result of a rollover crash.

Why Are SUVs At Risk for Rollover?

The reason SUVs are more likely to rollover in a collision, sudden movement or accident is that, compared to most cars and station wagons, SUVs have a higher center of gravity.

How Does NHTSA Test the Rollover Likelihood of SUVs?

In 2004, the U.S. Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) developed a new test for rating the likelihood SUVs would roll over in crashes. The dynamic test uses the so-called "fishhook" maneuver -- a series of abrupt turns at varying speeds -- to match what happens when drivers drift off the road and overcompensate.

Previously, the agency used a mathematical calculation, factoring in a vehicle's specifications, to gauge rollover risk. But Congress, in 2000, ordered regulators to develop track tests after nearly 300 rollover deaths in Ford Explorers equipped with Firestone tires in the late 1990s.

In the new tests, vehicles are driven through as many as ten fishhook maneuvers. The tests are conducted at speeds ranging from 35 to 50 miles per hour. Vehicles are outfitted with equipment to prevent an actual rollover and testing is halted as soon as a vehicle tips on two wheels.

Consumer groups have been sharply critical of the government's new testing because it has inflated grades for some vehicles. For example, the Toyota Tacoma tipped up on two wheels, yet still received three of five stars on the test. "The result defies common sense and it gives a misleading impression to the consumer," said R. David Pottle of the Consumers Union in a Wall Street Journal report.

In response, NHTSA also is providing a number which represents the probability, or percentage chance, that a vehicle will roll over in a crash similar to NHTSA's real test.

NHTSA uses the following star system to evaluate the rollover rates for an SUV:

	= up to a 10% chance of rollover during single vehicle crash
	= 10% to 20% chance of rollover during single vehicle crash
	= 21% to 30% chance of rollover during single vehicle crash
	= 31% to 40% chance of rollover during single vehicle crash
	= greater than 40% chance of rollover during single vehicle crash

Vehicle	Rollover 2 Wheel Drive Rating	Rollover 4 Wheel Drive Rating
2007 Acura MDX 4-DR. w/SAB
2007 Acura RDX 4-DR. w/SAB
2007 Audi Q7 4-DR. w/SAB
2007 BMW X3 4-DR w/SAB	Not Tested
2007 BMW X5 4-DR. w/SAB	Not Tested
2007 Buick Rainier 4-DR.
2007 Buick Rainier 4-DR. w/SAB
2007 Buick Rendezvous 4-DR. w/SAB	Not Tested	Not Tested
2007 Cadillac Escalade 4-DR. w/SAB
2007 Cadillac Escalade ESV 4-DR. w/SAB
2007 Cadillac Escalade EXT w/SAB
2007 Cadillac SRX 4-DR. w/SAB	Not Tested
2007 Chevrolet Avalanche 4-DR
2007 Chevrolet Avalanche 4-DR w/SAB
2007 Chevrolet Equinox 4-DR.
2007 Chevrolet HHR 4-DR.
2007 Chevrolet Suburban 1500 4-DR. w/SAB
2007 Chevrolet Tahoe 4-DR. w/SAB
2007 Chevrolet Trailblazer 4-DR.
2007 Chevrolet Trailblazer 4-DR. w/SAB
2007 Chrysler Aspen 4-Dr. w/SAB
2007 Chrysler Pacifica 4-DR w/SAB
2007 Dodge Durango 4-DR. w/SAB
2007 Dodge Magnum 4-DR.
2007 Dodge Nitro 4-DR. w/SAB
2007 Ford Edge 4-DR. w/SAB
2007 Ford Escape 4-DR.
2007 Ford Escape Hybrid 4-DR	Not Tested	Not Tested
2007 Ford Expedition 4-DR. w/SAB
2007 Ford Explorer 4-DR. w/SAB
2007 Ford Explorer Sport Trac 4-DR. w/SAB
2007 Ford Freestyle 4-DR.
2007 Ford Freestyle 4-DR. w/SAB
2007 GMC Acadia 4-DR. w/SAB
2007 GMC Envoy 4-DR.
2007 GMC Envoy 4-DR. w/SAB
2007 GMC Yukon 4-DR. w/SAB
2007 GMC Yukon XL 4-DR. w/SAB
2007 Honda CR-V w/SAB
2007 Honda Element 4-DR. w/SAB
2007 Honda Pilot 4-DR. w/SAB
2007 Hummer H2 4-DR		Not Tested
2007 Hummer H3 4-DR
2007 Hummer H3 4-DR w/SAB
2007 Hyundai Santa Fe 4-DR w/SAB
2007 Hyundai Tucson 4-DR w/SAB
2007 Hyundai Veracruz 4-DR. w/SAB
2007 Infiniti FX35/45 4-DR. w/SAB
2007 Infiniti QX56 4-DR w/SAB
2007 Isuzu Ascender 5 4-DR
2007 Isuzu Ascender 5 4-DR w/SAB
2007 Isuzu Ascender 7 4-DR
2007 Jeep Commander 4-DR. w/SAB	Not Tested
2007 Jeep Compass 4-DR. w/SAB
2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4-DR. w/SAB
2007 Jeep Liberty 4-DR.
2007 Jeep Patriot 4-DR. w/SAB
2007 Jeep Wrangler 2-DR.
2007 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited 4-DR.
2007 Kia Sorento 4-DR. w/SAB
2007 Kia Sportage 4-DR w/SAB
2007 Land Rover LR2 4-DR w/SAB	Not Tested	Not Tested
2007 Land Rover LR3 4-DR w/SAB	Not Tested	Not Tested
2007 Land Rover Range Rover 4-DR w/SAB	Not Tested	Not Tested
2007 Land Rover Range Rover Sport 4-DR w/SAB	Not Tested	Not Tested
2007 Lexus GX470 4-DR w/SAB	Not Tested	Not Tested
2007 Lexus LX470 4-DR w/SAB	Not Tested
2007 Lexus RX350 w/SAB	Not Tested
2007 Lexus RX400h 4-DR w/SAB	Not Tested
2007 Lincoln MKX 4-DR. w/SAB
2007 Lincoln Navigator 4 DR. w/SAB
2007 Mazda CX-7 4-DR. w/SAB
2007 Mazda CX-9 4-DR.w/SAB
2007 Mercedes-Benz GL-Class 4-DR w/SAB	Not Tested
2007 Mercedes-Benz ML-Class 4-DR w/SAB
2007 Mercedes-Benz R-Class 4-DR. w/SAB	Not Tested
2007 Mercury Mariner 4-DR
2007 Mercury Mariner Hybrid 4-DR	Not Tested	Not Tested
2007 Mercury Mountaineer 4-DR. w/SAB
2007 Mitsubishi Endeavor 4-DR w/SAB	Not Tested
2007 Mitsubishi Outlander 4-DR w/SAB
2007 Nissan Armada 4-DR w/SAB
2007 Nissan Murano 4-DR. w/SAB
2007 Nissan Pathfinder 4-DR
2007 Nissan Xterra 4-DR
2007 Pontiac Torrent 4-DR.
2007 Saab 9-7X 4-DR w/SAB
2007 Saturn Outlook 4-DR. w/SAB
2007 Saturn VUE 4-DR.
2007 Subaru B9 Tribeca 4-DR. w/SAB
2007 Subaru Outback 4-DR Wagon w/SAB
2007 Subaru Outback 4-DR w/SAB		Not Tested
2007 Suzuki Grand Vitara 4-DR. w/SAB
2007 Suzuki XL7 4-DR w/SAB
2007 Toyota 4Runner 4-DR.
2007 Toyota FJ Cruiser 4-DR.
2007 Toyota Highlander 4-DR. w/SAB
2007 Toyota Highlander Hybrid 4-DR. w/SAB	Not Tested	Not Tested
2007 Toyota Landcruiser 4-DR w/SAB	Not Tested	Not Tested
2007 Toyota RAV4 4-DR. w/SAB
2007 Toyota Sequoia 4-DR w/SAB	Not Tested
2007 Volkswagen Touareg 4-Dr. w/SAB
2007 Volvo XC90 4-DR. w/SAB

Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP, is a national law firm of over 50 lawyers with offices in San Francisco, New York and Nashville. Our attorneys are recognized for the successful prosecution of lawsuits involving deaths, personal injuries and property damage due to defective products, including dangerous and defective vehicles.

In 2007, in Mraz v. DaimlerChrysler, Lieff Cabraser attorneys, with local co-counsel, obtained the fourth-largest verdict in California for the year. At trial, plaintiffs showed that a defective transmission was responsible for making a Dodge Dakota pickup shift into reverse and run over Richard Mraz.

Currently, we are prosecuting personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits involving cars, vans, pickup trucks, SUVs, the Yamaha Rhino atv and other vehicles. To learn more about the firm, click here.

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