Isn’t it ironic that a product designed and produced solely for the purpose of saving lives is now responsible for deaths and catastrophic injury?
Trinity Industries, a leading manufacturer of guardrails and guardrail endcaps, has been selling their dangerous product to taxpayers for over seven years. The end cap of the guardrail was inadequately tested and is being blamed for several gruesome crashes where the guardrail was driven through the cabin of the vehicle. An endcap that performs properly in a safety test deflects the guardrail away from the vehicle and causes it to curl, like a ribbon. The endcaps that have been sold since 2005 by Trinity Industries are one inch smaller and do not deflect the guardrail away from the vehicle, instead it allows the guardrail to skewer the vehicle and its occupants. At least 5 deaths and numerous severe injuries have been attributed to the dangerous guardrail. Many of the injuries included amputated feet and legs as the guardrails impaled the drivers upon impact.
The original design originally purchased in 2000 by VDOT and many other states was adequately tested by Texas A & M (TTI) and approved by Federal Highway Administration. In 2005, Trinity changed the design without notifying the Federal Highway Administration or any of the states purchasing the product. One source estimated that approximately 11,000 of these modified endcaps have been installed in Virginia since 2005. The modified product was one inch smaller, $2 per unit cheaper to produce and 8 pounds lighter. It was also more likely to need to be replaced after a crash, therefore generating more revenue for the company through repeated sales as well as saving the company an estimated $50,000 in production.
See a full report from ABC news here http://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/video/nightline-verdict-guardrail-company-defrauded-government-26336279#.VEalJuo5nVk.email.
Virginia will be the first state to uninstall the deadly endcaps of their guardrails. This comes after the manufacturer refused to complete further testing of the product.
Read the letter from VDOT’s Special Design Manager to Trinity Industries here virginialetter
If you or someone you love has been injured or killed in a deadly guardrail accident, call Roanoke Injury Lawyer, Paul Thomson, of The Thomson Law Firm for a FREE case evaluation. Call toll free (877) 471-3353 to talk with an intake specialist now.
