Airbag Injury Attorney

The airbag, a device designed to protect you in a collision, can do you harm. Widely adopted by the automobile industry in the early 1990s, the airbag been responsible for many injuries and deaths to date. If you have been injured by a deploying airbag, you should contact an airbag injury attorney to pursue compensation for your related costs.

How Airbags Work and How Well They Perform

Your car’s airbags are designed to deploy upon impact with another vehicle or object. They may also activate when you brake quickly to avoid a collision. Each airbag contains a deflated bag, a triggering mechanism and a device that instantly inflates the bag with air.

As a safety feature, an airbag provides a cushion between the car’s occupants and the hard surfaces of the vehicle’s cabin. If your vehicle is a newer model, it probably has front and side curtain airbags. Some higher-end cars may even have overhead and knee-level airbags, plus seatbelt and seat cushion air modules.

These automatic cushioning devices have saved approximately 40,000 lives since the late 1990s, according to The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. However, defective airbags heighten your risk of injury, and manufacturers are legally responsible for paying for damages caused by defective products. An airbag injury attorney has the experience and legal acumen to represent your interests in dealing with the legal teams of large airbag manufacturing firms.

Case Study: Takata Airbag Recall

Nineteen different automakers used airbags made by the Takata company from 2002 through 2015 in their vehicles. When these bags began to dangerously malfunction, they inspired the biggest auto recall in U.S. history, involving approximately 70 million cars.

Safety investigators determined that the metal-housed inflation devices in the defective airbags could potentially explode with such force that they would propel shards of metal throughout the interior of the vehicle, often causing severe injuries to those within. As of March 2017, 11 individuals have died due to these defective safety devices while about 100 people have been injured.

If your car is among the millions being recalled, you should take it to your dealership as soon as possible to have your airbags replaced free of charge. While it may seem that the risk is minimal, it only takes one isolated incident to become a victim of the defective products. Your airbag injury attorney can confirm it’s just not worth the risk.

Other Possible Airbag Injuries

Most of the time, you can count on your car’s safety equipment working properly in the event of a collision. However, even if they are not part of the Takata recall, your airbags still have the potential for doing you harm. Over the years, airbags have caused:

• Blunt force trauma, especially in infants
• Cardiovascular injuries
• Hearing impairment from deployment noise
• Eye injuries from chemicals in the airbag
• Chemical burns
• Trauma due to airbag failure to inflate

A device intended to prevent injuries and save lives should not put you or your passengers in danger. If your airbags cause injuries, you are legally entitled to compensation from the product manufacturer.

California Airbag Injury Lawyers

Rizio Lipinsky Heiting is your best bet for getting compensation for airbag injuries. We have the experience necessary to work on your behalf to negotiate the full payment you are due. Give us a call today at 888-292-8888 to arrange a free consultation, or complete our contact form to find out more.