Air bags have made an impact in reducing fatalities in frontal crashes.When air bags work properly, they can be one of a motor vehicle’s most important safety features. A frontal air bag can not only protect an occupant from hitting the steering wheel or dash, it can also protect an occupant by keeping her in place. Side air bags can protect a passenger’s head and chest, especially in side impact accidents. Rollover air bags are designed to stay inflated for a while after impact to assist in keeping a vehicle passenger inside the car in a rollover. When air bags do not work properly, they can be responsible for serious injuries or even death. Defective air bag cases usually fall into one of the following types:
- Air bags may not deploy. Air bags are not designed to deploy in every accident, but when crash forces are high enough, it is important for air bags to inflate. When a frontal or side air bag does not deploy in a crash, an occupant can suffer serious injuries, whether wearing a seat belt or not.
- Air bags may accidentally deploy. Sometimes an air bag will deploy when a vehicle hits a curb or even a pothole. This accidental or inadvertent deployment can not only directly cause injury to an occupant, it can cause the driver to lose control of the vehicle and have a serious collision.
- Air bags may be too aggressive when they deploy. If an occupant is struck by an air bag before it completely inflates, the passenger can be injured, blinded or even killed.
- Lack of side air bags. Side air bags and rollover air bags are not required by the federal government. Therefore, manufacturers have decided not to include them on certain models. Not having side air bags or rollover air bags is a cost-cutting measure which can cause severe consequences in an accident.
- Air bags may deploy late. When an air bag which deploys late, an occupant can suffer greater injuries than would have been incurred had the air bag not deployed at all. A bent steering wheel or occupant contact marks on the wheel or on the dash suggest late deployment.
Common air bag injuries include chemical and friction burns, hearing damage, traumatic head and neck injuries, and broken bones. Defective air bags can be especially dangerous for children and smaller adults. Small individuals are more likely to be injured by the force of a defective air bag.
You may have a defective air bag case if any of these factors apply:
– The air bag deployed late;
– The air bag failed to deploy, while there was damage to the front bumper;
– The airbag deployed in a collision under 10 miles an hour;
– The occupant is severely injured because of the air bag deployment.
When death or a debilitating injury results from a motor vehicle accident, the lawyers of Wolff Ardis, P.C. can assist you in investigating whether the injuries were caused by a defective or poorly designed air bag and can help you pursue your claim.
If you or a loved one has been injured in an accident in which an air bag did not perform properly, contact the experienced lawyers of Wolff Ardis, P.C.
