Side Underride Guard Defects
Experienced product liability representation for catastrophic injury and wrongful death cases involving defective, missing, or inadequate side underride guards that may allow passenger vehicles to slide beneath trailers or truck bodies during a crash.
Holding trucking companies, fleets, and manufacturers accountable after devastating side underride crashes
Side underride crashes happen when a car hits the side of a trailer or truck body and slides underneath. Because of the difference in ride heights, the passenger vehicle’s safety features (like crumple zones and airbags) may be bypassed and these collisions can cause catastrophic injuries and loss of life.
What is a side underride crash?
Cross-traffic impacts at intersections
A trailer blocks lanes during a wide turn, U-turn, backing maneuver, or road crossing.
Night/low-visibility collisions
Limited lighting, poor conspicuity tape, or missing side marker lights makes the trailer hard to see.
Stopped or slow-moving trailers
Construction zones, highway shoulders, breakdowns, or traffic backups.
Why side underride guards matter
Side underride guards (sometimes called side guards) are protective rails or panels along the side of a trailer designed to reduce the risk that a smaller vehicle will slide underneath during a crash. Unlike rear underride guards, side guards are not yet required nationwide even though safety researchers and federal agencies have studied their potential to prevent deaths and serious injuries. Research and testing is continuing into the efficacy of side underride guards in reducing injury and death in side impact crashes with tractor trailers.