Airbags are there to protect you in the event of a car accident. If they don’t deploy properly when needed, however, you could sustain life-changing injuries due to no fault of your own. While your health insurance may cover your medical expenses, your life could have been forever altered by the accident. If another party, such as the manufacturer of the airbags, was responsible, you may be eligible for compensation from them via a lawsuit.
Who Is Liable if Airbags Fail To Deploy?
Depending on the details of the crash and what caused the airbag failure the possible manufacturing entities that could be at fault would be the following:
- Airbag manufacturer
- Airbag installer
- Airbag sensor manufacturer
- Vehicle manufacturer
- Dealership that sold the car
- Auto repair shop that repaired the car
Who Is Qualified To Sue if Airbags Don’t Deploy?
What Would Disqualify You From Filing an Airbags Lawsuit?
Proving the Right to Compensation
At a minimum, the injured party must be able to prove the following:
- The airbags did not deploy when they should have
- The airbag or airbag sensor had a defect or was not properly installed
- You suffered injuries that were caused and/or exacerbated by the lack of airbag deployment
- You suffered financial, physical, and/or emotional injuries
Farah & Farah’s car accident attorneys have years of experience in advocating for our clients and supporting them through the most difficult times of their lives. We work together as a team to provide each and every one of our clients with the best service and put our combined expertise and resources to work on your behalf.
Making a Personal Injury Claim
Negligence
Establishing negligence begins by determining whether the airbag was not inserted correctly, or not repaired correctly. Anything that happened to the airbag where the failure to deploy could have been prevented by something the manufacturers did not do.
Strict Liability
Establishing strict liability involves proving that the injuries sustained were the direct result of the manufacturer’s airbags not deploying. If strict liability is established, then the airbag manufacturer could be held liable without needing to prove negligence simply because the airbag didn’t perform as it should have.
What Causes an Airbag To Fail?
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that approximately one in 371,400 airbags malfunctions. A malfunctioning airbag may shoot out metal fragments when it deploys or fail to deploy. Airbag malfunctions may occur during any stage of production or installation.
Design Issues
A design defect occurs when a product is dangerous due to the way it was conceived for manufacture. A fault in the design of an airbag could cause it to fail to deploy properly, even if it was manufactured and installed perfectly.
In 2019, Takata recalled over 67 million airbags because Takata failed to consider the effects of heat and humidity when designing its product. Heat and humidity are real-world conditions that affect the performance of airbags, particularly in warm states like Florida. As a result of this failure, Takata airbags exposed to heat and humidity have exploded when deployed, spraying dangerous shrapnel. This design defect injured 400 people and killed 28.
Manufacturing Defects
A manufacturing defect occurs when mistakes are made while assembling or packaging a product. Manufacturing defects can be as dangerous as design defects.
In 2023, NHTSA considered forcing a recall of 52 million airbags manufactured by ARC and its licensee, Delphi, due to a manufacturing defect. The types of welds used to join parts together left behind metal shavings known as slag, which can clog gas release openings in metal canisters inside airbags, resulting in explosions that spray shrapnel. At least seven explosions have occurred, resulting in facial injuries and one death.
The Detroit Free Press has reported that NHTSA backed off the recall. Some vehicle manufacturers have issued recalls, including General Motors, BMW, and Volkswagen. ARC and Delphi changed their welding methods to reduce slag, but ARC has refused to recall airbags manufactured before the change.
Improper Installation
Airbags must be installed properly to deploy when needed. If the airbag has not been installed correctly, it may not function properly in the event of an accident.
Defective Sensors
A defective sensor in the car could fail to signal that an impact was strong enough for the airbag to deploy.
Improper Repair
If an airbag was not replaced or improperly replaced after a previous accident, it may fail to function correctly when needed later.
If you were injured in an accident due to someone else’s negligence, Farah & Farah is here for you. We’ve relentlessly fought for the right to compensation for our clients and their families since 1979.
What Can Happen When an Airbag Doesn't Deploy?
The injuries that occur from an airbag not deploying during a collision can be life-threatening and life-altering. This is because the nature of the airbag is to prevent the upper body from slamming into the steering wheel and other immovable parts of the car. Therefore, the following injuries occur from the lack of this cushion, and are the kind that may never be truly healed:
- Brain damage
- Head lacerations
- Internal bleeding
- Facial injuries
- Head trauma
What To Do If You Want To File a Defective Airbags Lawsuit
If you are in a car accident and the airbags fail to deploy, you should take the following steps to preserve as much evidence as you can if you aren’t too injured to do so. However, it is important to hire an attorney to help ensure the collection of such evidence as quickly as possible if you were unable to collect it yourself. Eyewitnesses may have details and photographs that could help your case.
- Inform the police so the airbag failure can be included in the police report
- Take photos and videos of the scene of the accident
- Write down as many details as possible about the accident
- Get the contact information for any witnesses to the accident
- Save any medical records from injuries sustained in the accident
Statute of Limitations
It’s important to consult with a lawyer as soon as you can because the statute of limitations will limit the amount of time you have to file a lawsuit. In Florida and in Georgia, this time period is 2 years from the date of the accident.
Consult With a Lawyer
Farah & Farah’s attorneys have decades of experience with auto manufacturers in court and many on our team specialize in auto accidents in Jacksonville and throughout Florida as well as product liability. We want to see you get the compensation you deserve. If you are unsure whether your case is worth pursuing, Farah & Farah offers free case reviews where the next steps can be explored and better understood. You won’t owe anything unless your case is successful.
