Florida Defective Airbag Attorneys
Defective Airbags
An airbag is a safety device found in a vehicle that is designed to inflate rapidly when sensors signal an impending collision. Ideally, the air bag will prevent the vehicle passengers in the front from colliding with the dashboard, steering wheel or windshield. Side curtain airbags, a more recent development, are design to protect or cushion passengers from striking the side pillars or frame of the vehicle.
The airbag was developed for passenger cars in the mid 1970s, though they did not become commonplace until a decade later. Eventually, as seat belts became more commonplace, the air bag became a secondary or supplemental safety device to be used in conjunction to seat belts. Air bags were never designed to replace seat belts. Since no action is required by the vehicle occupant to enable them, air bags are considered a passive device.
It is important to understand that once an airbag inflates, it will not be useful to protect occupants of the vehicle in a rollover. The front airbag will also offer no protection in a side or rear accident.
While airbags are designed to keep vehicle occupants safe, inadvertent airbag deployment can lead to serious injuries.
Since 1990, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has recorded 175 fatalities due to the deployment of air bags. 104 of the fatalities occurred in children. At the same time, NHTSA reports more than 6,300 lives have been saved as a result of airbags.
How are people injured?
Infants who are placed in the front seat in a rear-facing infant car seat have accounted for 19 deaths, according to NHTSA.
An airbag deploys at a rate of 200 mph and NHTSA reports that 76 children were front seat passengers who were unrestrained, improperly restrained, or wearing only a lap belt. In one instance an 11-year-old was leaning forward when the air bag deployed causing fatal head injuries.
The speed of deployment can cause injuries such as abrasions on the skin, nose, face, skull, and appendages. The explosion upon deployment has been known to cause eye and nose damage, head injuries, or hand and arm damage.
Additionally, thermal burns of the head and chest can occur if the hot gas used to inflate the air bag comes in contact with skin during deployment.
Among adults, those with a smaller stature, such as females who were sitting too close to the steering wheel when the air bag exploded, were among the 64 adult drivers killed. Others were totally unrestrained or improperly restrained when the air bag deployed. Sitting too close to the air bag compartment is a definite hazard.
Remember that in a side or rear collision, a driver’s side air bag will not protect the driver. However it should deploy if your speed was in excess of about 12 mph when you collided with the vehicle or something in front of your car.
German car makers, such as Mercedes-Benz, require the undeployed airbag be replaced after a period of time so they are reliable. Other carmakers, such as Volvo, have stated that airbags do not need to be replaced.
When you purchase an automobile, new or used, you are entitled to get all you pay for - a safe functioning car without any product defects. Automakers are responsible for designing and manufacturing automobiles that live up to their promises and promotions. It’s really as simple as that.
If you have had a problem with an airbag, you would be well-advised to consult with a Florida auto product liability attorney to help determine to what extent the air bag may have contributed to your injuries. An investigation will need to be launched including research into the past recalls that your vehicle may have bypassed.