Common Airbag Injuries
The injuries that so often accompany car accidents are not always attributable to colliding with another car, but are caused by the airbags that are intended to protect both drivers and passengers. These injuries tend to be particularly severe if an airbag was defectively designed or doesn’t inflate correctly. This happens more often than most people realize. Toyota, for instance, came under fire a few years ago after it was discovered that some of its Takata airbags were exploding violently upon deploying, sending shrapnel into the vehicles and causing devastating injuries.
Although nothing can compensate a person for the types of severe injuries that these kinds of accidents cause, recovering damages can help cover the cost of treatment, lost wages, and property damage. For help seeking compensation for your own airbag-related injuries, please call our dedicated Fort Lauderdale auto accident lawyers today.
Airbag-Related Injuries
Even airbags that deploy properly can cause injuries, but those injuries, such as abrasions and bruising, are usually minor. When airbags deploy improperly, however, the injuries can be much more severe and include:
- Contusions, resulting from the blunt force trauma of being struck by pieces of the exploding airbag;
- Wrist and arm fractures, which can occur when the force of an airbag detonation strikes the driver’s arms;
- Breathing difficulties, which can occur when a person inhales the materials that are contained in the airbag and escape upon detonation;
- Hearing loss, which occurs when the intensity of the blast ruptures an eardrum, causing temporary deafness or hearing loss;
- Burns, which occur when the chemical reaction that triggers the inflation of the airbag causes a heat reaction; and
- Lacerations, which often occur when shrapnel is ejected from the airbag itself at high speeds and if deep enough, could cause severe blood loss and eventual scarring.
These injuries range in severity from minor to potentially life-threatening, but anyone who suffers an injury because of a defective airbag can expect to face some sort of monetary loss, whether in the form of medical bills or property damage costs. Fortunately, injured parties are often entitled to compensation for these losses if they can establish that their airbag was defective.
Filing a Claim After Your Airbag Injury
Manufacturers are required by law to take great care in designing and testing their products, so those that fail to do so can be held liable for resulting damages. These types of product liability claims can, however, be complicated, as they often involve the negligence of multiple parties, including both the manufacturer of the airbag, as well as the company responsible for installing it. There are also specific deadlines with which plaintiffs must comply when filing a defective airbag claim, making it especially important for those who were injured by a defective product, to consult with an attorney before moving forward with their case.
Set Up a Free Case Review
If you were injured by a defective airbag, please reach out to the experienced automobile defect lawyers at Boone & Davis today. Contact our firm by calling 954-566-9919 to begin working on your case.
Resource:
nhtsa.gov/equipment/takata-recall-spotlight
