Trinity Industries of Dallas, Texas has been manufacturing and distributing guardrails for use along state and federal highways for quite some time. However, an ever-growing number of states that have purchased and installed the Trinity Industries’ ET-Plus guardrail heads have complained about the dangerous and sometimes deadly defect. Recently, Trinity Industries was found by a federal jury to have been involved in defrauding the Federal Highway Administration by secretly making changes to its design. The Federal Highway Administration has now demanded that the company perform additional crash safety tests to prove that the guardrail is safe.
As recently as October 10, 2014, the Commonwealth of Virginia said that it planned to remove the company’s products after it failed to meet the state deadline to provide proof that the new crash testing was complete and that the redesign of the guardrail was corrected.
In addition to Virginia, thirteen other states have banned additional purchases of the Trinity guardrails.
The guardrails are called rail heads and are found at the end of the guardrail that motorists see along state and federal highways. The dangerous defect that is present in the Trinity guardrail is that when impacted, the guardrails have been known to pierce vehicles.
Illinois is not one of the states that have to now banned the use of the ET-Plus Trinity rail head.
As a matter of fact, there have been hundreds of vehicle crashes involving Trinity ET-Plus guardrails that have resulted in more than 20 deaths around the United States. The deaths have been linked to the defective design of these guardrails. In one case in North Carolina involving an ET-Plus Trinity guardrail, the driver was seriously injured when the guardrail cut through the floor board of the vehicle’s car severing the driver’s legs.
In other reported cases, pieces of the Trinity ET-Plus guardrail have pierced and penetrated the doors and flooring of motor vehicles severely injuring or killing drivers and passengers. Those that have been critical of the design of the end terminal of the ET-Plus guardrail is that the piece no longer performs as it was designed and instead of being flattened, the guardrail may lock up and bend resulting in a piece of the rail penetrating the vehicle like a spear.
The purpose of guardrails is to absorb the impact for motor vehicles along streets, roads and highways. As reported, many states are withdrawing orders and others are reviewing the safety of the end terminal models of the Trinity ET-Plus guardrail.
If you or someone you know has been injured or killed by a Trinity ET-Plus guardrail, please call us for an immediate free consultation.
Robert Kreisman of Kreisman Law Offices has been handling product defect injury cases. Kreisman Law Offices has prevailed in trials and settlements in Chicago, Illinois and surrounding communities and has successfully resolved cases for those injured in product defect cases.
With our 40 years of experience in trying and settling product defect cases, Kreisman Law Offices provides the best possible services to our clients and have achieved unsurpassed results. Our service is unmatched. Please call us 24 hours a day at 312.346.0045 or toll free 800.583.8002 for a free and immediate consultation, or complete a contact form online. There is no charge for a consultation that will include an evaluation of your case, assessment of damages such as lost income, lost wages, medical and hospital bills, past and future pain and suffering, loss of normal life and wrongful death.