Injuries from broken tailgate

I am an attorney in Akron, Ohio and I represent the family of a man that died and a man that suffered a serious brain injury as a result of the tailgait straps on a 2003 Sierra breaking. Any information anyone could provide regarding the straps would be greatly appreciated.

All I know about them is mine broke b/c a fat kid did a butt-flop on my tailgate, but nobody got hurt..until I smacked him.
It's got something to do with the material they're made of I think, and they rust to the point where they eventually snap in half.. I do know that GM is replacing these faulty cables with new "improved" ones under warranty.

I hate to hear about those 2 families, that's got to be horrible.

Have you spoken to GM about this? I recently purchased an '04 Silverado and my tailgate straps were rusted about a month after I got it. GM tells me there's no recall on my VIN # so they can't help me. They state that although the straps are rusted it doesn't mean they have weakened - good answer!!! Are they going to be responsible if/when something happens when my tailgate falls off?? Good luck with this case... I hope the manufacturer is held responsible. It's terrible to say, but you would think they could help us with these issues after paying so much for a new vehicle and even more so when a tragedy like this happens. They should be held accountable!!! Maybe they need a couple more law suits to do something about it!!!
Amy

Thanks Jayson. The man that died had 3 small children. It is an extremely difficult time for them. Please keep them in your prayers.

Thanks Amy. We'll see what happens.

jeverett is right, they used galvanized steel cables in the factory, and these cables corrode until they become too weak to support a large load on the tailgate, and we all know what happens when a large load (fat kid :)) is placed on the tailgate. GM is replacing them with stainless steel cables, but they sure are taking their sweet time about it.

i just got my letter yesterday stating they are ready and I can call for an appointment to replace them.

i do know you dont need to over load the tail gate, for the straps to brake. a place i worked for the owners have all chevy trucks thay have had to replace them on there trucks after a year. the most thay load in the back of the truck is a bag of trash or fishing rods and cooler.

I have one tailgait strap off a nother truck. it looks good enuff to put on my brand new truck. but its a two part unit its broken in the center. the guy who owns the truck had a problem with the tail gate and never used the bed. I helped him get the gate down and fix the sticking both sides gave away when the tail gate opend.

All I know about them is mine broke b/c a fat kid did a butt-flop on my tailgate, but nobody got hurt..until I smacked him.


LOL!

:biggrin: He told me he'd buy me new cables...you just can't trust 13 year olds anymore.

They must have fixed these for 03 I haven't had a problem with them. My dad went through a set on his 2000 already though.

All I know about them is mine broke b/c a fat kid did a butt-flop on my tailgate, but nobody got hurt..until I smacked him.

LOL Damn kids.

I don't know if the 1998 cables are the same, but they sure fit the description. Black nylon coating on cables (about 1 1/2 feet) with high pressure crimp connector ends (slide lock eye and a bolt down eye). Broke with no load on tailgate, just opened it. The weight of the tailgate was enough. the cables break, no crimp connector pull outs. In fact I have saved the old pieces. I have a bad habit of saving all replaced parts on truck.

And how is that a bad habit? I've done it with the past 3 trucks I've owned, and actually, in some cases, I've needed them to fall back on...ya know, like an alibi.

If the cables on my Chevy were to break the tailgate would only fall about an inch and be stopped by the bumper. Have people actually died from this?

/\I really can't fathom it but anything is possible. No disrespect to the person that died from this, but there are some really dumb people out there. Just the other day I seen a video of kids mixing powdered chlorine and isopropl alcohol toghether in a glass jar. The kid then proceded to cap the mixture off and shake it until it exploded in his hands. Really stupid, but you can't blame the manufactures of either product yes when mixed toghether they create a rapidly expanding gas that if confined in a small space will explode with great force.

I don't know where I'm going with this I just think with a little common sense these days most accidents can be avoided and to many people are quick to blame or sue a manufacture for what is most likely operator error. A simple preinspection of the tailgate straps prior to using them would most likely have saved the guys life. Just like when you get on a plane or jet to fly they check everything out before they use it.

I guess this site pretty much says it all...... www.darwinawards.com (http://www.darwinawards.com)

I was loading a hot tub into my buddies 02 sierra when the left cable broke. I came very close to falling off the tailgate onto cement. When the cable broke the weight of the tub(500lbs) and me(200lbs) was enough to bend the hinge causing the tailgate to accually drop about 3 to 4 inches further than normal. Thank god that the tub was still mostly in the bed of the truck, cuz when the gate broke I grabbed the tub which prevented me from falling.

I understand where you are coming from rustcal but really you are not supposed to place heavy loads on a tailgate. The straps are intended to support the gate with little or no weight on them. Thus why I cringe everytime I see our forklift operator load an engine into a pu bed and place the damn thing right on the gate then back up and push it the rest of the way in the truck with the forks. That to me is using no common sense. We have fork extenders but they are to lazy to use them.

One way you can check if you own a newer truck is to look at the crimped ends of the cable, if they are filled with epoxy, yu have galvanized, all the new trucks off the factory have stainless steel cables made in the US.

My brother snapped one of his cables on the '99 Dodge that I gave him and I wondered how he did it. Then, I snapped both cables on my '02 Silvy at the same time. There were 4 people sitting on the tailgate while we were driving(slowly) between two houses on my friend's ranch 4th of July last year. When they snapped 2 of the 4 fell on the ground, luckily no injuries. This happened before the recall so the dealer replaced the cables with pre-recall cables. Then this summer one of those snapped while my best friend alone was simply sitting on the tailgate before I recieved my new post-recall cables. I wasn't happy with them failing, but there was no damage and no injuries and they replaced the parts so I couldn't be too upset.
Shortbus is correct, the tailgate is not engineered to bear any heavy load and I believe it says so in the manual. My Dodge never had a problem with 3 or 4 people sitting or riding on the tailgate though. Either way, my prayers go out to the families of those affected.
Jeb

The old way was steel strips with a hinged center (kind of like a folding table that supports the legs) these never had 1 issue (as far as I know) why does GM take proven design and change it just for the fact they want changes evry so many years. You dont need change things like that. Does anyone know the actual weight limit on these tailgates i'm sure it is over 200 lbs, if not then thats a real peice of sh%#.

I remember on my dads old custom delux where they werent even cables, they were think ass chains with twisted hooks at the ends. Every time you took down the tailgate you had to unhook both side, let it down and then rehook it. Their was no handel. These things lasted from when he got it brand new in the early 70's till 2002.

Now im not saying bring back the chains, but put something ontheir that CAN hold some weight. When your loading something heavy into your truck, sometimes the tailgate is as far as you can make it until someone gets into the back of the truck to grab it. So i think they should have cabels that are rated for at least 3 - 400 pounds. Any one else think the same??

I remember on my dads old custom delux where they werent even cables, they were think ass chains with twisted hooks at the ends. Every time you took down the tailgate you had to unhook both side, let it down and then rehook it. Their was no handel. These things lasted from when he got it brand new in the early 70's till 2002.

Now im not saying bring back the chains, but put something ontheir that CAN hold some weight. When your loading something heavy into your truck, sometimes the tailgate is as far as you can make it until someone gets into the back of the truck to grab it. So i think they should have cabels that are rated for at least 3 - 400 pounds. Any one else think the same??

:iagree:

The old way was steel strips with a hinged center (kind of like a folding table that supports the legs) these never had 1 issue (as far as I know) why does GM take proven design and change it just for the fact they want changes evry so many years. You dont need change things like that. Does anyone know the actual weight limit on these tailgates i'm sure it is over 200 lbs, if not then thats a real peice of sh%#.

The reason is rattle, shure they lasted for a lifetime, but people compained they were driving an "old well bucket" to work. :banghead:

See thats what I like this forum. Who would ever know that "the old bucket can" LOL

with a short bed any thing you put in the bed will brake the tail gate cable.
how do i know. you ever hull 30 2x6 12 foot long. I have. thats why I selling my chevy and bought a toyada.

dam chevy dealer thought i would i would cough up more cash to get long bed when he deleverd a short bed, I orderd a long bed. now every time i buy a truck i send a photo to that dealer and ask him how is your cash doing you lost. one bad dealer lost chevy 3 new truck sales. you just got to love the trucking industery. escorting heavy loads I can use up trucks fast. bought and drove chevys for 20 years now its toyadas from now on.

What probably happened was that someone standing in the bed of the truck, loading or whatever, walked out onto the tailgate, and it gave way sending hem falling and smacking their head on something harder than their skull.

For as much as we pay for a new vehicle this problem shouldn't be an issue!!! We should be able to stand or sit on the tailgate without any problems. I hauled lumber and snowmobiles in my '98 without one problem. And if the straps were to break on my '04 and the tailgate would only drop an inch, I bet there would be some painting or body work that would need to be done to the tailgate. Either way you look at it, we should not have to worry about this problem possibly occurring!!! Thanks GM!!!