Stuart Ollanik's interview on roof crush with Kim Posey of Denver's Fox News

Stuart Ollanik and Kim Posey from Denver's Fox 31 news.

Representing our clients in many cases of roof crush resulting in death or paralysis, our firm has produced a video outlining the results of testing done to show the difference that a couple of modifications would make.

There are more than 250,000 rollover crashes in the United States each year. Because energy gets dissipated gradually and over a long distance as the vehicle rolls, rollovers typically involve much lower peak forces than other collisions such as frontal impacts. Rollovers are therefore highly survivable events provided that the vehicle has an effective restraint system and that the occupant compartment remains intact. Many vehicles lack adequate rollover crashworthiness protections. Roof strength is wholly inadequate in many vehicles, resulting in excessive roof crush during rollover. The best restraint system in the world cannot keep you safe if the roof comes crushing in on your head and neck during a rollover accident.

Severe roof crush during a rollover can cause severe head and neck injuries.

Though auto industry research has long demonstrated the relationship between roof crush and head and neck injuries, the industry has been slow to incorporate these findings into vehicle design. The roofs of many vehicles are merely designed to meet minimum federal safety standards, set forth in Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard ("FMVSS") 216. A roof that merely meets FMVSS 216, however, can easily crush a foot or more during a rollover.

When a vehicle sustains severe roof crush during a rollover, the occupants are at high risk of spinal cord injury. In these two accident vehicles, a "surrogate" of the approximate size and weight of the injured plaintiff was seated in the vehicle to demonstrate the dramatic reduction in occupant survival space.