Texas Personal Injury Lawyer: Airbag Accidents Monetary Damages

These days virtually all new cars have airbags. According to the available data they've reduced driver deaths by 14% and passenger deaths by 11%. With the rapid proliferation of airbags there has been a considerable reduction in the seriousness of some crash-related injuries, and many lives have been saved by airbags that function the way they should function.

How do airbags work?

Since model year 1998, it is mandatory for all cars to have airbags on both driver and passenger sides. (Light trucks came under the rule in 1999.) To date, statistics show that air bags reduce the risk of dying in a direct frontal crash by about 30 percent. It is estimated that our cars might have six or even eight airbags in the coming years. But how does an airbag really work?

First we throw some light on a fundamental law of motion. An object, when set in motion, doesn't stop unless some force stops it. So at the time of a collision, while the motion of the vehicle is suddenly curtailed, the passenger inside the vehicle keeps moving until he or she crashes with something. If it is the driver he or she may crash into the steering wheel or the wind shield and if it is the passenger he or she might crash into the dashboard, the wind shield, or the front seat. The purpose of an airbag is to minimize the impact of this crash and it has only got a fraction of a second to inflate and cushion the crash.

This inflation system is almost like a rocket booster. The air bag system ignites a solid propellant, which burns extremely rapidly to create a large volume of gas to inflate the bag. The bag then literally bursts from its storage site at up to 200 mph (322 kph). A second later, the gas quickly dissipates through tiny holes in the bag, which deflates the bag to enable the passenger to move.

So how do they cause injuries?

Most airbag systems are calibrated to sense vehicle deceleration corresponding to a frontal collision at speeds in excess of 20 to 25 mph. Sometimes at low speeds a vehicle may hit a bump or a pothole causing the airbag to inflate, resulting in serious accidents. Some airbags are known to have inflated even when radio settings were changed due to some chafing condition in the steering wheel wiring.

The primary reasons for airbag injuries are:

• Chemical Burns

As mentioned above, most airbags systems use a propellant type of gas to inflate at an immense speed. If the airbag is operating properly, the gas is harmless and within a second escapes from vent holes in the bag. The chemical propellant used to generate gas in an airbag module is similar to rocket fuel. As fuel is oxidized and burns, small bits of reacting propellant may blow into the bag and be expelled from the vents.

Passengers have reported severe chemical burns on the face, neck and arms following airbag deployment. This happens because of inadequate propellant filtering as it exits the gas generator module.

• Failure to Deploy

Sometimes the airbags inflate without reason, at the wrong time. This can totally distract or disorient the driver, or might even knock him or her unconscious because of its suddenness.

• Injury from the bag itself

It is as if your face has been pummelled by a very hard pillow. The passengers have experienced facial abrasions, broken jaws and necks and even eye injuries. Sadly, some of these instances have been fatal.

• An inoperative airbag

We do not mean to say the airbags should not function. They should function and they should function properly. Sometimes the service station personnel are not properly trained by the car companies on how to repair an airbag installation. Wrong people repair the mechanism that fails to function at the moment of need.

So what should you know?

Serious injuries or even death can occur when a vehicle manufacturer installs an airbag incorrectly. These defects can include:

• Deployment with too much force
• Inflation on minor collisions
• Releasing harmful chemicals
• Being less cushioned
• Not inflating at all during the second collision

Personal injuries caused by these malfunctions have known to cause soft tissue injuries, blindness and even wrongful deaths. There have been various defective airbag lawsuits and defective airbag claims filed across various automobile manufacturers.

If you, or someone you love, have been the victim of airbag related injuries where defective airbags or their defective installation may be to blame, you need a qualified attorney who can advise you of your legal rights in order to seek redress and recover monetary damages. We understand that claiming monetary damages will not undo the affliction, but it can be a big help for you and those involved.

You have a right to claim monetary damages in cases of:

• Wrongful death
• Past and future physical pain and suffering, mental anguish and physical impairment
• Past and future medical, incidental and hospital expenses
• Past and future loss of earnings and earning capacity

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