Defective Airbag Accident Law Firm - Peake & Fowler

What Kinds of Injuries Can a Defective Airbag Cause?

When you purchase a car, you expect that car – and the technology within it – to provide a reasonable level of protection from injuries in the event that you are involved in a crash. To be sure, the very last thing that you might expect is a part of the car to actually cause, rather than prevent, an injury. Unfortunately, dozens of people are seriously injured throughout the country due to defects in their vehicles’ airbags. The following reviews what you need to know about defective airbags and injuries, and what you should do if you think if you are the victim of a defective airbag injury in South Carolina.

Injuries from Defective Airbags

The types of injuries that an airbag can cause if it is, in fact, defective range in severity, depending upon the type of defect, the force and angle of airbag deployment, and the size and positioning of the victim. Some of the most common injuries include:

  • Skin burns;
  • Abrasions;
  • Facial damage (i.e. broken facial bones, lacerations, bruising);
  • Fractures of the arms, wrists, and hands;
  • Head and neck trauma;
  • Traumatic brain injury (TBI) and skull fracture;
  • Fractures of the ribs;
  • Injuries to lower limbs; and
  • Chemical burns.

In the case of the defective Takata airbags, the recall of which will affect just under 60 million vehicles in the U.S. by December 2019, injuries also include lacerations and puncture injuries. This specific airbag defect led to pieces of shrapnel being thrust into the air when the airbag exploded, leading to sometimes fatal injuries.

How Airbags Cause Injuries

While airbags are designed to protect us, they are sometimes designed or manufactured with dangerous defects. Airbag defects that can lead to injuries include:

  • Failure to deploy at all, which can lead to more catastrophic injuries from the crash than driver/passenger would have incurred otherwise;
  • Airbag inflation mechanism defects (inflating too quickly or too slowly);
  • Random deployment (i.e. deploying despite lack of extreme force in a crash);
  • Lack of proper filtering of gas used to fill the airbag;
  • Defects in the airbag sensor;
  • Installation of counterfeit airbags;
  • Errors with the location of the airbag installment within the vehicle and therefore the angle of deployment;
  • Presence of objects or materials within the airbag that could cause injuries;
  • Improper folding of airbag (leading to improper deployment); and
  • More.

While airbags may seem simple, today their design is highly technical and complex, and even the smallest of errors or failures – such as the failure to detect as many variables as possible during sensor design – can lead to catastrophic injuries. While some airbag defects are known (i.e. the Takata defect mentioned above) and vehicles are recalled as such, for many people, defects are not known until it is too late.

Who Is Liable for Injuries Caused by a Defective Airbag?

If you are involved in a crash and your airbag causes you serious injuries due to its defective design or manufacture, you may be able to file a lawsuit for damages against:

  • The airbag design or manufacturing company;
  • Anyone along the manufacturing chain who may be responsible for the defect; or
  • A car company that knew of the defective airbag yet sold the vehicle with warning or repair regardless.

You have the right to seek compensation for the full value of your losses, including compensation for your physical pain and suffering.

How Our South Carolina Defective Auto Part Attorneys Can Help

When a defective airbag leads to injuries, the process of recovering compensation becomes much more complicated than just filing a claim with the other driver’s insurance. Instead, you will need product design and accident reconstruction experts to analyze your case and determine the specific cause of injury and source of the defect. From there, our experienced South Carolina Injury Attorneys at the offices of Peake & Fowler will begin building your case and filing your claim against the liable party. We will help you to prove negligence and recover the compensation that you deserve for your preventable and devastating injuries.

Don’t wait to take action – time is running out. Contact Peake & Fowler today for a free consultation. Reach us at (803) 788-4370, or use our online form to tell us more about your case.