Consumer advocates say a small design change in Trinity guardrail end treatments has caused these guardrails to malfunction, with deadly consequences.

Guardrails are supposed to absorb the impact of car accidents, slowing and hopefully stopping cars before they run off the road.

Guardrails are designed so that if a car hits the end of the guardrail head on, they will make impact with what is known as an end treatment, also known as the “rail head” or “end terminal.” The end terminal is designed so that when a car makes impact, the metal of the guard rail will crush like an accordion and peel away from the vehicle.

The Federal Highway Administration is in charge of approving designs for guardrails and end terminals, as the design of the devices can impact how well they function, and how effective they are in saving lives in a car crash.

Alleged Trinity Guardrail End Treatments Defect

Allegedly, Trinity Industries had been using one guardrail end treatment design for years, but changed that design in 2005 without notifying the Federal Highway Administration. The revised guardrail end treatments are called the Trinity ET-Plus. 

The modified design allegedly reduced the size of the guardrail head channel by one inch, taking the size from five inches to four inches. Reports show that this change can cause the guardrail not to absorb impact from a car as intended, letting the guardrail crumple as the car moves forward. Instead, the smaller size causes the guardrail head to function like a spear and pierce through the front of the car.

This can cause guardrails not to be the life-saving device that they are designed to be. It can turn them into deadly factors that make car accidents even worse. In fact, Car and Driver conducted a study that showed that Trinity’s change to the guardrail end treatments made them four times more likely to be involved in a fatal car accident than the older, larger Trinity end treatments design.

Reportedly, the new designs have already caused amputations, serious injuries, and deaths that could have been avoided had the guardrail been properly designed.

Trinity Guardrail End Treatments Lawsuits

Many people who were injured by a Trinity guardrail may not know that they can take legal action against Trinity. Over a dozen Trinity guardrail end treatment lawsuits have already been filed by people who suffered injury, and are helping hold Trinity accountable for the injury their design caused.

People who have filed Trinity guardrail end treatments lawsuits say that the company made the guardrail end treatment design change to save on materials costs, as the new design is about $2 per end treatment cheaper to produce than the old design.

In fact, concern over the Trinity ET-Plus design led several states, including Kansas, Missouri, Nevada, and Massachusetts to ban the guardrails on their roads.

If you were injured by a guard rail in a car accident, when the guardrail impaled or penetrated the vehicle, you may have a legal claim. If your loved one was killed or injured in such an accident, you may also have a legal claim, and could receive compensation for your injuries.