Highway Guardrails: Do They Prevent or Cause Injuries in Auto Accidents?

When a car crash occurs in Spring Hill or Brooksville, you may hope to have guardrails near your location to keep you from traveling over an embankment and into a body of water or a ditch. Your taxpayer dollars help fund an infrastructure, such as guardrails, to keep drivers in your community safe. Serious concerns have emerged about the safety of certain guardrails installed in Florida and across the U.S. If you believe a faulty guardrail contributed to your injuries, a Hernando County guardrail attorney can help you.

Lawsuits Filed Over Dangerous Guardrails in Florida

In 2014, a lawsuit was filed regarding a 2010 accident near Orlando, where a driver lost part of his leg. According to the suit, the accident caused the driver to crash into a guardrail, which then sliced through his vehicle and into his leg. Trinity Industries manufactures the ET-Plus guardrail involved in this case.

The ET-Plus guardrails, as well as State Departments of Transportation, have been the targets of numerous other lawsuits after other victims were injured in car crashes where guardrails contributed to their injuries. Trinity Industries argues that either the drivers caused the injuries or the guardrails were installed incorrectly.

What Happened?

In a recent case, the court found the Florida Department of Transportation liable. The claims stated that it failed to properly maintain and repair the guardrails. Authorities reported that the guardrail involved in the Orlando-area accident had been damaged in a previous crash. It was not repaired using ET-Plus replacement parts. Some repairs reportedly used outdated components not approved for highway use since the 1990s.

Despite this, there is still ongoing speculation about the overall safety of ET-Plus guardrails themselves. In 2005, engineers redesigned the guardrails by reducing the size of the entry point and shortening the feeder channel. Many experts believe these design changes may contribute to the way the guardrails function—and fail—in real-world crashes.

If you suffered injuries in a guardrail accident in Hernando County, a qualified attorney can analyze whether a defective or poorly maintained barrier contributed to your injuries and help you explore your legal options.

Injured by a Guardrail? Legal Support Is Available in Hernando County

Guardrails, when working properly, should stop a car from going over a cliff or into a river. They should stop the car and push it to the side. The lawsuits involving ET-Plus guardrails claim that the guardrails stopped the vehicle but did not sweep the car to the inside, but rather, caused parts of the guardrails to enter the vehicles, leading to amputations or killing drivers.

A former industry business owner filed a whistleblower lawsuit claiming that the ET-Plus guardrails are dangerous. Recent studies examined collisions involving guardrails, indicating more research is necessary to determine if these guardrails are less safe than other models.

If you been injured in a car accident and believe a guardrail caused your injuries, a Hernando County Injury Lawyer at Whittel & Melton can help review your case and advise you on how to proceed. For a free consultation, please call us today at 352-666-2121 or contact us online.