When Your Airbag Hurts You Instead of Helping

Airbags in cars are a safety feature that has been around for well over fifty years. The idea is that when you get into a crash, your airbag inflates and cushions you from the impact. When an airbag works correctly, it can save your life. When it does not work correctly, it can make an accident much, much worse than it had to be. Defective airbags can cause severe injuries that may be worse than the injuries you would have sustained with no airbag at all.

Manufacturers, designers, and installers could all be the party ultimately responsible for putting a defective and dangerous product on the market. Unlike a typical car accident case, a case involving defective airbags is based on products liability. You will need to work with an attorney who can investigate to pinpoint the party whose negligence led to the defect.

What Types of Injuries Can Defective Airbags Cause?

Airbags are supposed to prevent injury, not contribute to it. One of the most common types of airbag defects is a failure to deploy when needed. If you were in a serious car accident and your airbags did not deploy, then they may have been defective. If this is the case, it is a question of what injuries your airbags would have prevented if they functioned correctly. You may have a claim against the driver who caused the accident, and possibly against the airbag’s manufacturer as well.