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“On December 8, 2014 we published a blog titled “Defective Guardrails – A Safety Hazard.” After 2 1/5 years defective guardrails are still a safety concern, according to Randall Spivey, Fort Myers Car Accident Attorney. 

There have been six guardrail-related crashes in the last year in Tennessee, Missouri and Virginia in which seven people died. The Lindsay X-LITE guardrail ends were struck by the vehicles impaling the vehicles along interstates with speed limits of 70 mph. 

Following are just a couple of these accidents reported by USA Today in April 2017: 

• In June, 2016, Tennessee’s Department of Transportation (TDOT) mistakenly billed a diseased 17-year-old girl $3,000 to replace the X-LITE guardrail that killed her in a car crash the previous November. The story went viral. Since that time, 4 more people have been killed in accidents where the guardrail did not perform as it was intended to. 

• A 37-year-old woman was driving home on December 23, 2016 to see her parents for Christmas when she drove off the left side of Interstate 66 in Fauquier County, Tennessee and hit an X-LITE end almost head-on. Rather than telescoping as it was supposed to do, the guardrail rode up over the hood, crushed the windshield and literally whipped the roof open. The second section of guardrail came over the left side of the motor vehicle and punched open the driver’s door. The driver suffered massive head injuries and was killed. 

The problem with the faulty guardrail 

Most guardrails are constructed of multiple pieces designed to "telescope" or slide into each other when struck, absorbing some of the impact of a crash and preventing the metal end from skewering the vehicle. The TDOT found that the X-LITE model does not always work that way when hit at speeds higher than 62.2 mph, the standard crash test speed for guardrail ends. Instead, in some crashes, the guardrail ends separated horizontally from the w-beam guardrails and pierced vehicle cabins, as reported by USA Today. 

The U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration provides states with guardrail information including testing results. It is up to the states to determine which guardrails to use on their roads and highways. 

The Florida Department of Transportation reported on research it conducted in 2015. The research involved “In-Service Performance Evaluation” of the state’s guardrails. The results of the evaluation can be found at Evaluation 2015. The researchers based their performance evaluations mainly on two types of analysis: 

(1) percentage of captured and crossover barrier crashes as a function of site location, vehicle type, crash severity, and median barrier lateral clearance; and

(2) comparisons of crash experiences before and after barrier installation by vehicle type and crash severity. 

Families filing lawsuits against guardrail manufacturer 

There have been lawsuits filed against the guardrail manufacturer including one in July 2016. The children of a man who was a passenger in a Ford Explorer which collided head-on into a guardrail end terminal filed a wrongful death lawsuit stating that the guardrail was supposed to protect their father but actually caused his death. The suit claims the manufacturer, Lindsay Corporation, was negligent for failing to test the guardrail system, recall the system and provide proper installation repair, maintenance and instruction manuals. The company is also accused of manipulating, misrepresenting and/or concealing testing data and had failed to disclose known problems or defects, according to ABC6 News. 

“When products, like the unsafe guardrails, which are intended to prevent accidents and save lives fail, wrongful deaths and injuries occur. It is important for those impacted by these unsafe products contact a knowledgeable attorney,” said Fort Myers Wrongful Death Attorney, Randall Spivey. “Please contact us for a no-cost consultation to determine your rights.”

Fort Myers Wrongful Death Attorney, Randall L. Spivey is a Board Certified Civil Trial Attorney – the highest recognition for competence bestowed by the Florida Bar and a distinction earned by just 1 percent of Florida attorneys. He has handled over 2,000 personal injury and wrongful death cases throughout Florida. For a free and confidential consultation to discuss your legal rights, contact the Spivey Law Firm, Personal Injury Attorneys, P.A., in Lee County at  239. 337.7483 or toll free at 1.888.477.4839, or by email to Randall@SpiveyLaw.com.  Visit SpiveyLaw.com  for more information. You can contact Spivey Law Firm, Personal Injury Attorneys, P.A. in Charlotte County at 941.764.7748 and in Collier County 239.793.7748.