Drivers associate airbags with safety because they usually prevent injuries or reduce their severity. However, airbags are not without their risks, particularly in circumstances where they malfunction.
What Causes Airbags to Malfunction?
Generally, defective airbags cause your car to flash a warning sign that indicates you need to address the problem. Unfortunately, this detector is not always accurate and may give you no warning if there are faulty sensors in the car.
Common Defective Airbag Injuries
The absence of an airbag warning sign is not the only way that airbags may cause driver or passenger harm. Defective wires could cause some airbags not to deploy at all, an outcome that is likely to adversely affect drivers.
Additionally, other defects can cause serious harm. Recently, millions of airbags were recalled because they were found to explode when deployed. Defects in airbags created by just one manufacturer, Takata, caused over 400 injuries and almost 30 deaths.
The most common injuries from defective airbags include:
- Facial injuries, such as fractures and bruising
- Chest injuries
- Burns from the airbag fabric hitting skin
- Brain injuries
Other Airbag Injuries
Not all airbag injuries are the result of a defective product. In accidents, particularly high-speed collisions, a person can be injured by the force of the airbag hitting his or her body. Airbags only deploy when sensors in the car detect rapid deceleration or other signs of a collision, like impact from another car. In high-speed car accidents, airbags can deploy with significant force, possibly causing injuries to an injured person’s neck, chest, face, or brain.
Proving Liability from Airbag Injuries
Plaintiffs may sue the airbag or car manufacturer for damages. Additionally, injured parties may pursue claims against anyone who replaced or otherwise tampered with the airbag if this caused a defect in the airbag.
If you are injured by an airbag you must show the airbag was defective and that this defect caused your injuries. Unlike other personal injuries, plaintiffs do not have to prove negligence. Companies are held to a harsher, strict liability standard for defects in their products.
If you were injured from an airbag as the result of a high-speed collision, you may seek damages from the other driver whose negligence caused the accident. For your lawsuit to be effective you must show the other driver breached his or her duty to use reasonable care when operating a motor vehicle, and that his or her failure to use reasonable care resulted in your injuries.
What Can I Recover?
Plaintiffs injured by defective airbags recover damages for physical pain, suffering, lost wages, medical bills, psychological distress, and other expenses related to their injuries.
Injured by an Airbag? Call Shaw Cowart LLP Today
If you or a loved one have sustained personal injury by an airbag deploying in a car collision, you deserve to have an attorney investigate your claim. By working with experienced attorneys you will increase the likelihood that you receive the full compensation after your loss.