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Seating

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"Seat Back Failure" a Life-Threatening Defect

"Seat back failure" is a life-threatening defect in many automobiles that cause numerous injuries and deaths each year. There are estimates that in 1990 there were 1,100 fatalities and 1,600 serious injuries due to seat collapses in rear-ended collisions. These injuries could have been prevented had the seat backs been designs been replaced with proven safety measures that have been readily available for decades.

The underlying problem is that the national safety standard does not require adequate seat strength and many manufacturers would rather install cheaper, more dangerous seats in the lower priced lines of their cars and trucks than the more expensive, safer seats. Every American automobile manufacture has had complaints regarding seat back failure.

Seat backs fail under various circumstances. However, the ultimate cause of these failures is the rearward collapse of the seat back by an occupant's body mass. Some seat backs fail due to the relative acceleration of this mass during a collision, whereas others fail under the weight of the occupant while the vehicle is either stationary or traveling at a constant velocity.

The two most common types of collapse are the failure of the seat back support system to maintain an upright position and the deformation of the seat back frame itself. Failures that have been attributed to deformation of the mounting system that holds the seat to the vehicle floor or to a collapse of the vehicle floor pan are less common. Another problem is the detachment of adjustable head restraints during an accident.

When a vehicle is impacted from the rear, the forces of the impact propel the vehicle forward and the occupants are thrown backwards. The seat back should be able to keep the vehicle's occupants safe by keeping the individual from ejection, and from striking interior components or other passengers. If designed properly, the seat back should keep the occupant in a secured upright position. When a seatback collapses rearward in an accident, many serious conditions arise:

- The driver can lose control of the vehicle if unable to sit upright while the vehicle is in motion, causing multiple collisions and further injury

- Partial or complete ejection from the vehicle, when the occupant has slid out from under the seat belt

- Interior impacts, by the occupant into the interior structures of the vehicle or into the other occupants

- A front seat collapsing can cause serious injury or death to the rear seat occupants trapped underneath the collapsed seat back

- Blocking of the exits, in the event that that a ruptured fuel system has caused a fire

There can be catastrophic results of seat back failure. Injuries to occupants of collapsing seats often include devastating or fatal head and spinal cord injuries. These injuries occur when the occupant's seat collapses and allows the occupant to strike the rear seat or the b-pillar in the back seat. Injuries to the occupants behind collapsing seats often occur when the occupant of the collapsing seat strikes the passenger seated directly behind the collapsing front seat. The contact between the two occupants often results in fatal or devastating head or chest injuries.

The safety standards for automobile seats are viewed as being too lenient and not updated to protect vehicle occupants form injuries otherwise avoidable. Automobile seats are only required to pass a strength requirement. They are not required to go through a crash test rating system even though seat backs regularly fail during National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) 30-mph rear impact crash tests (FMVSS 301). The hazard of seat back failure originates from the inadequate Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 207 - Seating Systems. This current standard has not been updated in over thirty years. It requires that a seat must withstand a pull of 3,300 inch-pounds applied about the seat back in a rearward direction.

The NHTSA has been petitioned numerous times to strengthen its existing standard. They have received complaints of seat backs collapsing in more that two dozen different cars, including models made by all of the American automobile manufacturers. The standard is so inadequate that the majority of the petitioners are asking for an increase at least 6-fold. That would increase the pull that a seat must withstand from 3,300 inch-pounds to about a 20,000 inch-pounds.

Ford Motor Company has been aware of dangerous seats for over 30 years. This deadly problem was investigated by Ford in 1992, and the outcome was that the seats cause serious harm in the event of rear-end collisions. The Ford Motor Company did not make any design changes to combat the seriousness of the seat back failure.

Bisnar|Chase represented a mother of a seven year old girl who died as the result of a seat back failure. The plaintiff and her daughter were rear-ended at 25 miles per hour while in a Ford Escort. As a result of the faulty seats, the mother's head struck the daughter in the chest, causing the daughter's heart to rupture, as well as internal bleeding. The young girl died one day later.

In 2000, another Ford Escort was in a rear-end accident that caused a man's death. When the Ford Escort was rear-ended, the driver's seat collapsed backward, hurling him into the rear of the car's cabin. The man was fatally injured by the impact of the car's rigid interior.

The Ford Explorer is another Ford model that has had a history of seat back collapse injuries. Our client was in a rear end accident when her seat collapsed backward ejecting her into the back of the vehicle. The impact severed her spinal cord and left her a paraplegic.

Virtually every front seat produced by General Motors Corporation (GM) from 1970 to the mid 1990's was designed to collapse rearward in an impact in which there was a speed change of 15 miles per hour or greater. According to documents obtained by CBS for its series on seats collapsing in rear-end collision, in 1992, GM attorneys advised top executives that there standard seats could no longer be defended.

GM knew, as early as 1966, that seat strength is directly related to occupant safety in a rear impact collision. They have known that the occupant survival depends largely upon a front seat structure that holds the passenger in an upright position, yet, they have not upgraded there seats. A leading GM engineer, David C. Viano, in a 1994 internal GM study, projected that 376 to 470 lives could be saved each year and estimated that improvements would prevent 1,000 serious injuries each year in rear-end collisions if the company strengthened its seat backs.

DaimlerChrysler has been known to have seats collapse as well. In 2001, a mother, one of our clients, was driving one of the manufacturer's minivans and was ejected from her seat during a crash due to a seat back collapse. The collapsed seat caused the mother to fatally strike her 8-month old child, who was in a car seat behind her.

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Bell'O HTS104BK Wedge Connector for Arc-Design Multi-Seating (Black) List Price: $260.00 Sale Price: $209.42 You save: $50.58 (19%)   Eligible for free shipping! Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours See Reviews For This Product Description Wedge Connector for Arc-Design Multi-Seating is used between components to create an arc configuration. There are connectors on both sides of the chair for attachment to an adjacent chair or component. This wedge connector is used between components to create an arc configuration for your multi-seat home theater. Connectors on both sides of the chair provide for attachment to this component. It is constructed of luxurious leather and leather-matched materials. Additionally, it features a stainless-steel cup holder which is removable for easy cleaning. Features Wedge Connector for Arc-Design Multi-Seating is used between components to create an arc configuration. There are connectors on both sides of the chair for attachment to an adjacent chair or component Front width: 6" Rear width: 12.75 " Luxurious leather with leather-matched materials

Bell'O HTS104BN Wedge Connector for Arc-Design Multi-Seating (Brown) List Price: $260.00 Sale Price: $65.18 You save: $194.82 (75%)   Eligible for free shipping! Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours See Reviews For This Product Description Wedge Connector for Arc-Design Multi-Seating is used between components to create an arc configuration. There are connectors on both sides of the chair for attachment to an adjacent chaiar or component. This wedge connector is used between components to create an arc configuration for your multi-seat home theater. Connectors on both sides of the chair provide for attachment to this component. It is constructed of luxurious leather and leather-matched materials. Additionally, it features a stainless-steel cup holder which is removable for easy cleaning. Features Wedge Connector for Arc-Design Multi-Seating is used between components to create an arc configuration. There are connectors on both sides of the chair for attachment to an adjacent chair or component Front width: 6" Rear width: 12.75 " Luxurious leather with leather-matched materials

Bass Diplomat Lounger Row of 4 Home Theater Seating See Reviews For This Product Description !EASY Inside delivery! This adjustable and tilting headrest Bass Diplomat Lounger Row of 4 Home Theater Seating has kiln dried hardwood frames. The reclining loungers are supported by metal coils. The Home Theater Seating comes with manual or automatic recline options. The black or chrome color cup holders are optional. It is offered in different material and upholstery colors. This is available in a variety leg finishes.     We will bring your Home Theater Seating Set Inside! We won\'t leave it curbside like the other guys.

Bass Majestic Lounger Row of 2 Home Theater Seating See Reviews For This Product Description !EASY Inside delivery! This comfortable Bass Majestic Lounger Row of 2 Home Theater Seating features kiln dried hardwood frame. The reclining seats are supported by metal coils for ultimate comfort. This Home Theater Seating is available in three different materials and various upholstery colors. It comes with manual or automatic recline. Choose from a variety of leg finishes. Optional cup holder available in black or chrome colors.     We will bring your Home Theater Seating Set Inside! We won\'t leave it curbside like the other guys.

Lab Stool - 25"-33" Adjustable Stool with Hardboard Seat - National Public Seating - 6224H List Price: $322.00 Sale Price: $39.00 You save: $283.00 (88%)   Eligible for free shipping! Availability: Usually ships in 6-10 business days See Reviews For This Product Description 6224H Features: Made of 7/8" o.d., 18-gauge steel tubing Seat is a full 14" diameter and an 11 1/2" diameter masonite board recessed into the pan and will not chip or crack Footrings, 5/8" o.d., are welded to each leg, with 4 contact points at each leg for added rigidity ANSI BIFMA approved Finish: Hardboard Seat / Grey Frame Dimensions: Overall Width: 16.8" Seat Height: 25-33" Features Sold as: Carton

Redding Reloading - Competition Seating Die List Price: $144.60 Sale Price: $104.55 See Reviews For This Product Description The Redding Competition Seating Die has quickly established itself as the "state of the art" in straight line bullet seaters. This designed has beat the concentricity problems inherent in all other seating dies of this type. Tighter manufacturing tolerances have been made possible due to the details of the patented seating stem system. The bullet guide to seating stem fit is so precise that the seating stem can actually be demonstrated to "float" on a column of air. The seating stem is precision ground to exactly match bullet diameter. No seating die on the market is built to this level of precision. Alignment and accuracy are enhanced by the cartridge case and bullet being completely supported and aligned in a close fitting, precision ground sleeve before the bullet seating begins. The micrometer is calibrated in .001" increments for precise seating depth and is infinitely adjustable (without clicks). The micrometer also has a "zero" set feature that allows you to zero the micrometer to your rifle or favorite seating depth. 243 Winchester Features 243 Win Competition Seating Die Wannanty All Redding Reloading Equipment has been carefully inspected prior to shipment and is fully warranted to be fre Dies Parts 243 Win

Hornady 044144 Bullet Seating Die List Price: $27.87 Sale Price: $23.70 You save: $4.17 (15%)   Eligible for free shipping! Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days See Reviews For This Product Description Hornady Bullet Seating Die- Caliber: 9mm-380 A-38 S A (.355")- Die #3- 1 Die Features Made By: Hornady Model Number: 044144 See Description

Lab Stool - 18" Stool with Hardboard Seat - National Public Seating - 6318 Sale Price: $39.00   Eligible for free shipping! Availability: Usually ships in 6-10 business days See Reviews For This Product Description 6318 Features: Square, roomier, contoured hardboard seat with 16 rivets to prevent warping Finish: Hardboard Seat / Grey Frame Dimensions: Overall Width: 16.8" Seat Height: 18" Features Features a square contoured hardboard seat with 16 rivets 0.88'' O.D. 18-gauge steel tubing Foot rings 0.63'' O.D. are welded to each leg by 4 contact points at each leg for added 18''H 24''H or 30''H sizes fixed and adjustable with an optional Optional backrest; 6''H x 12''W adjusts up/down and forward/back

Bell'O HTS101BK Left-Arm Reclining Chair (Black) List Price: $900.00 Sale Price: $613.46 You save: $286.54 (32%)   Eligible for free shipping! Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours See Reviews For This Product Description Left-Arm Reclining Chair is typically used as the first chair in a row. There are connectors on both sides of the chair for attachment to an adjacent chair or component. Leather and leather-matched materials. This beautiful left-arm recliner is constructed of luxurious leather on all touch surfaces, providing optimum support and positioning for home theater viewing. The Leggett & Platt® Zero Wall reclining mechanism requires only 3" of reclining space for smooth and compact reclining. The cleverly hidden fingertip-controlled reclining mechanism lever activates the reclining system with just a touch. Typically used as the first chair in a row, this recliner provides connectors on both sides for easy attachment to another chair or component. Features Left-Arm Reclining Chair is typically used as the first chair in a row. Quality Leggett & Platt? Zero Wall reclining mechanism for smooth and compact reclining requires only 3" of reclining space. Cleverly hidden fingertip-controlled reclining mechanism lever. Stainless steel cupholders are removable for easy cleaning. There are connectors on both sides of the chair for attachment to an adjacent chair or component.