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You might be entitled to compensation from the manufacturer if an airbag injured you in a car accident in Missouri. However, contacting an experienced auto accident lawyer can help you gain perspective on the issue and help you begin your battle for a full recovery. A car accident injury, especially an airbag injury, can cause you to suffer financially and physically. You can lose out on a sizable sum of money if you don’t have the right legal representation, which you could utilize to increase your chances of recovering fully and returning to your regular life.
Although airbag technology has evolved significantly over the years, the fundamental concept remains: they are quickly inflated cushions intended to prevent your body from striking the rest of the automobile. Your airbag’s sensor detects a collision, and a series of quick events leads to the nylon bag expanding almost instantly. The soft cushion is intended to absorb impact rather than your head, arms, or body hitting the hard dashboard, steering wheel, or glass.
You might be curious about the speed at which a car must move for an airbag to activate. Since all airbags are built to deploy even at low to relatively low speeds, a head-on collision with a solid object while traveling between 8 and 14 MPH should trigger the airbag. However, for the airbag to deploy effectively, the vehicle must accelerate very quickly.
Sadly, there are still instances where people are hurt due to an airbag. On some occasions, a perfectly functioning airbag might cause injuries. However, most often, malfunctioning airbags, incorrect seat belt use, or pre-existing medical issues in the victim are to blame for significant airbag injuries or deaths.
In the event of a collision, airbags are designed to protect both drivers and passengers. Unfortunately, rather than protecting drivers, malfunctions and other airbag mistakes like early or late deployment can cause serious injuries. The six ways an airbag can harm passengers and drivers in an accident are listed below.
1. Facial Fractures
Airbags can cause serious injuries and fractured bones because they deploy at such a rapid rate. During deployment, fragile bones around the nose and eyes may fracture, and the high-speed contact may harm the teeth and jaw.
2. Hearing Damage
When the airbag is released by the steering wheel, a little explosion happens. This explosion has a 160 decibel sound output. Unfortunately, before experiencing permanent hearing loss, the human ear can only process sounds up to 90 decibels. Around 17% of those involved in an accident where the airbags deploy will suffer hearing loss.
3. Loss of Vision
When the airbag deploys, your eyes are directly in its path and must take in the entire power of the bag. Blindness can result from injury to the eyes or the optic nerve caused by a broken bone in the skull or near the eye sockets. Additionally, sodium azide, which can irritate the eyes, is used to fill airbags.
4. Back and Neck Disorders
Airbags protect the heads of drivers and passengers to reduce the risk of traumatic brain injuries. A collision nevertheless exerts pressure on the neck and upper back, potentially inflicting spinal cord damage. Whiplash, which happens when the muscles in your neck, upper back, and shoulders are stretched out, is another possibility.
5. Scars and Burns from Chemicals
Thermal burns and chemical burns are both possible side effects of airbags. Thermal burns (rug burns) happen when abrasive materials cause harm to the skin (the fabric of the airbag scraping across your face at high speed can result in first or second-degree burns). When acidic substances come in contact with the skin, burns or discomfort develop (if the airbag ruptures during a collision, high-temperature nitrogen gas and sodium azide ignite, which may result in second or third-degree burns on the face and hands). The speed of deployment or the chemicals that ignited can cause burns and scars that permanently alter the appearance of victims
6. Internal Injuries
Organ wounds are referred to as internal injuries (lungs, kidneys, liver, etc.). The vast majority of internal injuries are prevented by the airbag. Sadly, they do not completely avoid the dangers of internal trauma. The driver may be flung against the steering wheel during a high-speed collision, which could put pressure on the chest and cause:
● Damaged ribs
● Damaged lungs
● Injury to the heart, spleen, or liver
● Injuries to the chest
When a driver or passenger is not strapped in, there is a much higher chance of injury in any accident when an airbag is deployed. Therefore, as a component of the overall safety crash system of the vehicle, airbags are made to work in combination with seat belt tensioners.
Elderly victims also have a higher risk of damage because their bones are more fragile and they are more likely to have other health issues, like age-related osteoporosis. As placing a child in the front seat of a moving vehicle offers substantial dangers in the event of an accident, children should always be buckled into a child seat in the back seats.
The complexity of airbag production, installation, and maintenance has grown along with advancements in technology throughout time. It is crucial to have your vehicle evaluated correctly in case of any airbag-related injuries, since if an airbag malfunctions, it may result from a manufacturer’s or dealership’s negligence.
Additional airbag defects can include:
● Not correctly inflating
● Failure of a sensor results in unanticipated inflation or, in the case of a crash, no inflation.
● Design flaws that didn’t meet basic regulatory requirements or the warranty’s guarantee of preventing crash injuries
● Defects that could lead to unequal airbag inflation and unexpected pressure
● Corrosion
● Untimely inflation
● Flawed designs
● Aftermarket installs and counterfeit products
● Flaws in electrical systems
It’s possible that an unavoidable injury was brought on or made worse by a faulty airbag. After being hurt in an automobile accident, always consult a personal injury lawyer to see if your airbag may have contributed to your injuries or failed to stop them adequately.
Without a doubt, airbags save lives every single day. However, there are situations when that nylon airbag might seriously hurt drivers and passengers. When coping with the injuries following an automobile accident in which your airbag injured you, you should be informed of your legal options. Consulting with a St. Louis car accident lawyer is a terrific way to get started down the proper road. Here at Goldblatt+Singer, the St. Louis Injury Law firm, we will devote all our attention to your case to recover the most money for your damages. In addition, we can review the specifics of your airbag injuries during a free consultation. Call us at (314) 888-1000 or contact us online to schedule your free consultation.