Patent ID: 8727399

Claim:
A door assembly for a vehicle, the door assembly comprising: a vehicle door having an outside door panel; a handle assembly including a handle moveably mounted to the vehicle door; a latch actuator operatively connected to the handle, wherein movement of the handle moves the latch actuator to an open position to allow opening of the door; an internal door body part connected to the outside door panel, the internal door body part including a contact area internally offset from the outside door panel; a counterbalancing member cooperatively associated with the handle, wherein during a crash condition causing deformation of the vehicle door and intrusion of the handle toward the internal door body part, the counterbalancing member engages the contact area of the internal door body part to prevent the handle from moving the latch actuator to the open position, wherein the counterbalancing member is configured to at least partially deform due to engagement with the internal door body part.