When you are involved in a car accident, the last thing you anticipate is that the safety features you rely on to cause your injuries. Unfortunately, this is often the case with airbags, which can result in serious harm. The following blog explores airbag injuries in further detail. Additionally, you’ll learn how a Broward County personal injury attorney can help you in the fight for the compensation you deserve during these difficult times.
How Do Airbag Injuries Happen?
Airbags have saved an estimated 50,000 lives in the United States over a thirty-year period, highlighting how effective these features are in preventing fatalities during car accidents. When your vehicle’s crash detection system is triggered, a chemical reaction is triggered, creating nitrogen gas. This gas then inflates into the airbags, rapidly deploying them so they can act as a cushion to prevent you from colliding with the interior of your vehicle.
Despite the benefits of airbags, it’s important to understand that, if defective, these safety devices can cause injuries. Additionally, older airbags deploy with significantly more force, which can cause injuries for those who operate older vehicles. Unfortunately, you may also find that airbags deploy when no collision has occurred, or fail to deploy during an accident. As such, if an airbag is defective, it can result in internal organ damage, broken bones, hearing loss, eye injuries, concussions, whiplash, contusions, and chemical burns.
Who Can Face Liability in These Accidents?
When airbags do not deploy properly or do not deploy at all during a collision, it’s important to understand who can face liability. Responsibility will depend on the circumstances surrounding the injuries, as your attorney and the insurance companies must examine the cause of the airbag failure. If it’s determined that the airbags were designed or manufactured incorrectly, the company responsible for their production can face liability. However, if the airbags are inherently safe but were compromised during installation or installed incorrectly, the car manufacturer will be held liable.
Generally, when you are injured in an accident, the driver whose negligence caused the accident will face liability. If you are injured because of defective airbags during a collision, the party who caused the accident, as well as the entity responsible for the airbags, can face liability.
Unfortunately, airbag injuries can significantly impact your life as you navigate the pain and suffering, medical bills, and time spent out of work healing. As such, it’s in your best interest to connect with an experienced attorney with the Finizio Law Group to help guide you through these complicated times. Our firm understands how difficult these matters can be, which is why we will examine the different factors in your case to help you fight for the justice you deserve.
