We all know that wearing a seat belt is safer than not wearing one. When it works properly, your seat belt is indisputably the most important safety device in your car. However, when it functions poorly or completely fails to work, your seat belt can cause serious injury and even death.

This week, GM, one of the largest domestic car manufacturers, announced it is recalling over a quarter of a million vehicles because the seat belts could falsely latch and fail to protect you in an accident.

The GM Seat Belt Failure Recall is one of the largest for the car company in recent years, and it involves several 2009 – 2010 models. The Chevrolet Traverse, Buick Enclave, GMC Acadia and Saturn Outlook are all being recalled due to faulty seat belt latches.

The seat belt problem arises when you fold your seat down to take a nap, and then reposition the seat into its original upright position. Raising the seat back can place a strain on your seat belt that will cause the belt to falsely latch and leave you unprotected in an accident.

Most of us trust that if we are involved in an accident, our seat belt will restrain us and protect us from injury. In other words, we expect our seat belts to work. Unfortunately, millions of vehicles on the roads today have defective seat belt systems that are incapable of providing reasonable protection in otherwise survivable accidents. GM is not the only car company to place defective seat belts on the market, but they are currently the only car company with an official seat belt recall announcement.

General Motors is approaching this recall as though it is no big deal, but it is a big deal and should be taken seriously. Some of the major injuries you could sustain when your seat belt fails to work are:

• Internal bleeding
• Broken neck or spine
• Lacerated spinal cord and paralysis
• Brain trauma and other head and neck injuries
• Internal organ laceration
• Broken bones
• And minor fractures and bruising

As a consumer, it is important to understand seatbelt defects and how you can keep your family safe. We at the BISNAR | CHASE law firm want to help you stay informed. Some ways you can protect your family are to stay up to date with seatbelt laws and recalls, read seatbelt recall news and promptly take care of any seatbelt problems with your vehicles, and check your seatbelts regularly for damage, wear and tear, or other seatbelt problem. If you have been injured because your seat belt failed to work, you should contact an experienced attorney immediately to discuss your claim.

Note: Knowing if a defective auto product caused your car accident can be critical to your personal injury settlement. To learn more about auto defects, request your free copy of “Still Unsafe at Any Speed — Auto Defects That Cause Wrongful Deaths and Catastrophic Injuries” by Brian Chase. Brian’s book is the only comprehensive auto defect book published since 1965 when Ralph Nader released “Unsafe at Any Speed.” This easy-to-read auto products liability book enables readers to understand valuable information on specifics of common vehicle defects and the implications they have on our lives. To read the real-life examples, request your complimentary copy of “Still Unsafe at Any Speed” today.