Air bags are meant to protect against serious injury or death in an auto accident, and normally they do. National Highway Safety Administration (NHTSA) statistics show that air bags are 81% effective in the event of a car crash; good news unless you are one of the 19% injured or killed by an air bag that failed to deploy.
Even when they pass safety inspections and are supposed to be working correctly, air bags can fail when they are needed most. There are four ways that air bags can fail, due to a defect in the car’s air bag deployment system:
- Failure to Deploy resulting in severe injury and death upon impact with the steering wheel
- Late Deployment causing more severe injuries than if the air bag had deployed immediately on impact
- Overpowering (too forceful) Deployment causing catastrophic and even fatal injuries
- Inadvertent (accidental) Deployment when there is no impact which may also cause injuries
Warnings and Recalls Too Late for Those Injured and Killed in Air Bag Failures
Thousands of vehicles are recalled every year due to air bag defects and component failures, often after individuals have already been injured or lost their lives. When injury and death occurs, auto manufacturers at fault should be held responsible and have financial repercussions.
Air bag failure can cause the following:
- Severe head trauma
- Traumatic brain injury
- Paralysis
- Blindness
- Spinal cord injury
- Paraplegia
- Quadriplegia
- Broken bones
- Amputation
- Death
If you have been injured in an automobile accident and feel that the cause of your injury is due to air bag failure, an experienced auto accident attorney can help you get the compensation you deserve.
