Injury from Motorhome Bunk

In the early 2000's a motor home salesperson attempted to move a consignment vehicle approximately 30' to another area of the lot. During this maneuver the over-cab bunk allegedly released, impacting the salesperson on the head and resulting in neck injuries (made worse after a botched surgery).

The vehicle was a 1988 Class "A" motor home. Like many pre-1995 motor homes this one was equipped with a retractable bunk over the cab. Practically all retractable bunks were made by the same company and incorporated gas springs to counter-balance the beds. For storage, these springs biased the bunks toward the ceiling and many vehicle suppliers incorporated Velcro straps or over-toggle hook latches for further stowage security. At about halfway into the retraction (lowering) process the spring mechanism's over-center feature biases the platform downwards against dead stops. This keeps the bed in the lowered position for easy ingress and egress.

Gas springs, which see wide use in automobile hood and trunk applications, lose their load with time due to gas and fluid leakage and must be periodically replaced. The gas springs in the accident vehicle were quite weak with age - taking less than 5 lbs. to lower the bunk from its stowed position. It is feasible to conclude that if unlatched, the bunk could easily drop onto an unsuspecting driver while the vehicle is in motion. To demonstrate the hypothesis that replacement springs would return the bunk mechanism to original condition a second exemplar vehicle was purchased and fitted with new gas springs. The retraction load increased from less than 5 pounds to approximately 20 pounds.

The lawsuit alleged the latches and / or the bunk mechanism were defective, allowing the bunk to drop from its stowed position when the salesperson moved the vehicle. A post accident inspection showed the latches to be in good working condition with solid attachment to the bunk framework. The latches have a rated strength in excess of 500 lb each and there was no sign of overloading. The bunk mechanism was also in good working order except that the gas springs were very weak. The particular latches used incorporated an adjustable hook so that the bunk could be secured tightly against the roof of the motor home and the latches in the accident vehicle were adequately adjusted. However, in the period between the accident and the inspection, the motor home had been sold to a third party and it was not possible to ascertain the condition or adjustment setting of the latches immediately following the accident.

Experiments on the exemplar motor home showed that by loosening the latches sufficiently they could be inadvertently released with a slight upward motion of the bunk - such as might be imparted during normal motor home motion.

The bunk could have dropped down on the driver's head if it was not properly latched because the gas springs were in poor condition and unable to securely restrain it in the stowed position while the vehicle was in motion. Another way the bunk could have come down was if the latches were adjusted too loosely such that they released as the bunk bounced up and down while the vehicle was being moved.

A survey was made of circa-1970-1995 class "A" motor homes to see whether any incorporated superior safety features to maintain the bunks in the stowed position. Most of these motor homes had weakened gas springs in need of replacement. Most also used Velcro straps to help secure the bunk in the stowed position, but many of these were broken or missing.

Consultant Conclusion

The latches used in the accident vehicle, while not defective, do allow adjustment such that inadvertent release is possible. Nevertheless, these mechanical latches were found to be state-of-the-art for the period in question, and superior to the Velcro straps, which have limited strength and longevity. The over-cab bunks were phased out in the mid-1990's. This products liability case settled before going to trial.

To see the resume of the expert associated with this case study, see the link below.