Car Accident Information Center

By 2006, there were an estimated 177 million airbag-equipped vehicles on the road. Because of the sheer number of these devices, the increased frequency of airbag failures that cause injuries shouldn’t be shock to anyone. Airbags and seatbelts are components of a passive restraint systemdesigned to be used in tandem. Even when seat belts are used, airbag accidents continue to occur. Since 1987, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration ("NHTSA") reports that 22,466 lives have been saved by airbags. Yet, the NHTSA reports that since 1990, 284 airbag-related deaths have occurred.

Airbag Design
As airbag accidents and injuries have increased, the NHTSA has responded by requiring automobile manufacturers to install "smart" airbags, which were designed to reduce airbag injuries, accidents, and deaths by automatically adapting to a variety of occupant sizes and positions, as well as to variable auto speeds and crash angles. However, even after these standards were implemented, airbag failures related to design and manufacture, still are responsible for injuries and deaths.

Inadequate Airbag Safety Standards
When an accident occurs, a vehicle typically goes through a sudden deceleration. Airbags are designed to prevent riders from plunging forward, hitting the vehicle interior, and suffering injuries. To make airbags safer, the NHTSA has issued enhanced regulations to prevent airbag injuries and accidents; however, these regulations do not require manufacturers to use specific designs, but instead only mandate that broad safety standards are met. So even when a vehicle manufacturer has complied with the new safety standards, it’s still possible to make legal claims against auto manufacturers and others for injuries and accidents resulting from airbag design or manufacturing flaws, mistakes in installation, and inadequate warnings.

Motorists need to be aware that the airbag in their current vehicle may not offer the latest and safest technology. Depending on the year a vehicle was produced will determine how compliant a particular air bag design is with the most up-to-date federal safety standards. Specific designs have been shown to cause airbag accidents and injuries.

Airbags that Fail to Deploy
Airbags are some of the most complicated safety equipment on the market today. With over 177 million now in use nationwide, defects are bound to cause injuries. According to the most recent research, more people are injured or killed in accidents where the airbag fails to deploy properly than in accidents where the airbag deploys and injures the occupants. In an exhaustive study in 2007 by the Kansas City Star newspaper reported that over four times as many people in a six-year period suffered injuries or deaths by the airbag’s failure to deploy as from faulty deployment. The defect behind the failure to deploy can result from faulty airbag parts, poor installation, and inadequate design. In addition, airbags are not a complete solution; even when they do deploy as designed, thousands of people are still injured and killed.

Changes in Airbag Design due to Injuries
Manufacturers continue to refine current technology and develop new ways to use them to enhance safety. There are some common types of airbags in use:

Frontal Airbags

The very first airbags were located in front of the driver, inside the hub of the steering wheel and called frontal airbags. Later, more were added behind the dashboard across from the front-seat passenger. In 1998, NHTSA required all passenger cars (and with the 1999 model year all SUVs, pick-ups and vans) to be equipped with frontal airbags. By 2007 all light vehicles were required to have advanced frontal airbags. Advanced designs were able to measure factors—such as weight and position of the occupant—to prevent airbag accidents and injuries. However, because the NHTSA requires only that certain general safety standards be met, vehicle manufacturers are free to offer airbags of varying design as long as they meet the minimum safety standards; thus, not all airbags operate the same way.

Side and Roof Airbags

Auto companies also offer optional side and roof airbags, as well as side-curtain airbags. Unlike frontal airbags, which are not designed to protect from injuries in rollovers, rear-end collisions, or side impact crashes, side airbags are often designed to offer additional protection from injuries for such accidents. However, these airbags, too, can cause injuries for some of the same reasons discussed above.

Side Airbag

Side airbags are usually of three types: those that protect the head, the chest, or the head and chest. Side airbags which are supposed to protect primarily the head from injuries are most often mounted in the roof rail above the side windows and will deploy in a serious side-impact crash. They offer protection as a curtain. The curtain is generally meant to help protect rear and front occupants in a rollover accident. Side airbags, designed primarily to protect adult passengers' chests, are mounted inside a seat or in a door. Those designed primarily to protect an adult's head and chest from injuries in airbag accidents are usually mounted on the side of a seat and are generally larger than a chest-only side airbag design.

Causes of Airbag Injuries
Airbags are designed to adjust to the size, weight, and position of the occupant, and to the position of the seat. Injuries usually take place when the airbag doesn’t perform according to its design specifications, deploying late, too early, or not adjusting properly. Because they deploy at speeds as high as 200 mph, they possess a significant amount of potential for injury. If an airbag deploys too early or too late it can result in head, neck, facial injuries and broken bones. If the occupant comes into contact with an airbag that is still inflating, it is traveling at up to 200 mph when it hits, which can cause brain injuries, abrasions, broken bones and more. If the occupant is thrown into a bag that is already deflating, that occupant may hit the vehicle's interior, causing injury or death, instead of the fully inflated airbag.

Various factors affect deployment of advanced airbag systems (installed in all 2006 and later models), which can create the risk of airbag accidents resulting from system failures or airbag defects. Some of these factors include:

Seat position. The position of the seat can affect how soon, or late, a person comes into contact with the airbag. Sensors are designed to adjust the speed of the deployment to match the seat's position. If the sensors doesn’t operate properly or if not enough sensors are installed, airbag injuries can be severe.

Occupant position and weight. Where a person sits, whether middle, the side, or leaning forward, and how much a person weighs, also affects when and how the occupant will come into contact with the airbag. Sensors typically will adjust for these circumstances, but indicators are not foolproof. For instance, a lighter person holding a bag of groceries could give the sensor false information about the occupants' forward-moving velocity.

Sensor failure. Sensors may also detect and make adjustments for the speed at which the vehicle is traveling, the angle of the crash, the speed at which the vehicle decelerates, and whether the occupant is wearing a seat belt. Not wearing a seat belt could cause the occupant to move forward too quickly during the initial deceleration and end up on top of the still inflating airbag, which could lead to death or serious injury. Airbag injuries and deaths can result from inadequate system designs, incomplete or hard-to-find warnings from the manufacturer, or failing sensors.

Module design. The shape and size of the opening of the airbag module can affect deployment, and because the NHTSA only mandates general standards, specific design features are up to individual manufacturers. The manufacturer's choice of design could lead to unnecessary airbag accidents and injuries.

Inflation and tethering volume. How the airbag is tethered affects how far into the interior of the car it deploys (this distance is also known as the airbag's excursion). The tethering and the inflated volume of the airbags, which can vary by manufacturer, may affect whether an occupant is injured during an airbag accident. Airbag accidents and airbag injuries may be the result of systems that do not take account different types of occupants or occupants' positions (because of design or parts failure, for example) or may be the result of a manufacturer not giving proper warning about potential systems failure.

Airbag storing. How the airbag is folded will affect deployment speeds and force during an accident. Injuries can be caused by how an airbag is, or is not folded.

Airbag material. The material used to construct an airbag can affect whether or how an occupant is injured by striking the airbag. Lighter material is better. Serious injuries can be prevented by using appropriate material.

Angle of deployment during an accident. Airbag injuries can be affected by the angle of deployment, with more vertical deployments often being better than horizontal. Also important is whether the airbag has lateral-bias flaps, which could direct an airbag to the side if it strikes someone during inflation. For drivers, the angle of the steering wheel can direct an airbag higher or lower on a driver's body. Keeping the airbag away from the head and neck is usually better.

Airbag deployment speed. The speed at which airbags deploy, which will be different for people weighing differently or for the position of the seat, can affect whether someone is injured. Design flaws, improper inflation, faulty information about the occupants or their seat position can all be causes of airbag accidents, injuries or death.

Threshold triggers of airbag deployment. Each airbag system is designed to deploy when reaching designated trigger thresholds. These thresholds along with the speed and force of their deployment vary greatly from manufacturer to manufacturer. If these systems do not work correctly or if they were not designed properly, the risk of death and injury is from an airbag malfunction is magnified.

Airbag venting. All airbags vent after deployment. How they do this might determine whether an individual strikes a fully inflated airbag or not. This element is critical to an occupants safety and could lead to an injury because of poor design or an airbag defect.

Design of sensor. In order to detect as many variables as possible, some sensors use optical, infrared or electric fields to better gauge airbag deployment. However, the number and type of sensors used by a vehicle manufacturer are different (even across different models) and could also be a determining factor in when and how an airbag is deployed. Airbag defects from inadequate or poorly designed sensor systems can result in serious injury.

Design limitations. Sometimes airbags don’t prevent injuries in certain accidents, such as when a vehicle hits a tree, when a car goes under a truck, or in certain head-on collisions where the deceleration might not be sudden enough to trigger deployment. Also, airbags might not be as effective in side impacts, in rollovers, or in rear-end collisions. In these cases, inadequate design, insufficient warnings, or ineffective equipment can lead to accidents as well as to airbag injuries and deaths.

Common Injuries Caused by Airbag Defects

The list of possible airbag injuries is long. Following is a partial list of common airbag injuries caused by airbag accidents:

Death
Traumatic brain injury (TBI)
Spinal cord injury (SCI)
Chest injury
Neck and head injury
Internal trauma
Loss of sight, either temporary or permanent
Hearing loss, either temporary or permanent
Thoracic trauma
Amputation of fingers and thumbs
Lacerations
Concussions
Arm and leg fractures
Burns
Abrasions

Defective Airbag Injury Attorney

When someone suffers an injury in a motor vehicle accident and defective airbags are suspected, a qualified legal expert in airbag operation and investigation should be consulted. This area of personal injury law is complex because negligence in design, manufacture, and installation of airbag must be investigated, documented, and proven in court in order to collect financial compensation. An expert personal injury attorney experienced in vehicle crash investigations can protect an injured person’s rights to recover financial compensation for their injuries. In cases where someone has died of their injuries, immediate relatives may be eligible to recover damages and financial compensation, depending on the state the accident occurred in, their relationship to the deceased, and the length of time that has passed since the death occurred. In all of these cases, a legal expert should be consulted.




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Practice Areas Cost of Auto Accidents Major Causes of Car Fatal Car Wrecks Factors Contributing to Auto Accidents Auto Manufacturer Defect Defective Products Defective Gas Pedals Defective Seatbelts Defective Tires Airbag Defects Brake Failure Defective Door Latch Defective Seatback Vehicle Crashworthiness Roof Caving Side Impact Injury Bumper Height Bus Accidents 12 Passenger Van Accidents SUV Rollovers Auto Accident Plan Car Accident Information Center By 2006, there were an estimated 177 million airbag-equipped vehicles on the road. Because of the sheer number of these devices, the increased frequency of airbag failures that cause injuries shouldn’t be shock to anyone. Airbags and seatbelts are components of a passive restraint systemdesigned to be used in tandem. Even when seat belts are used, airbag accidents continue to occur. Since 1987, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration ("NHTSA") reports that 22,466 lives have been saved by airbags. Yet, the NHTSA reports that since 1990, 284 airbag-related deaths have occurred. Airbag Design As airbag accidents and injuries have increased, the NHTSA has responded by requiring automobile manufacturers to install "smart" airbags, which were designed to reduce airbag injuries, accidents, and deaths by automatically adapting to a variety of occupant sizes and positions, as well as to variable auto speeds and crash angles. However, even after these standards were implemented, airbag failures related to design and manufacture, still are responsible for injuries and deaths. Inadequate Airbag Safety Standards When an accident occurs, a vehicle typically goes through a sudden deceleration. Airbags are designed to prevent riders from plunging forward, hitting the vehicle interior, and suffering injuries. To make airbags safer, the NHTSA has issued enhanced regulations to prevent airbag injuries and accidents; however, these regulations do not require manufacturers to use specific designs, but instead only mandate that broad safety standards are met. So even when a vehicle manufacturer has complied with the new safety standards, it’s still possible to make legal claims against auto manufacturers and others for injuries and accidents resulting from airbag design or manufacturing flaws, mistakes in installation, and inadequate warnings. Motorists need to be aware that the airbag in their current vehicle may not offer the latest and safest technology. Depending on the year a vehicle was produced will determine how compliant a particular air bag design is with the most up-to-date federal safety standards. Specific designs have been shown to cause airbag accidents and injuries. Airbags that Fail to Deploy Airbags are some of the most complicated safety equipment on the market today. With over 177 million now in use nationwide, defects are bound to cause injuries. According to the most recent research, more people are injured or killed in accidents where the airbag fails to deploy properly than in accidents where the airbag deploys and injures the occupants. In an exhaustive study in 2007 by the Kansas City Star newspaper reported that over four times as many people in a six-year period suffered injuries or deaths by the airbag’s failure to deploy as from faulty deployment. The defect behind the failure to deploy can result from faulty airbag parts, poor installation, and inadequate design. In addition, airbags are not a complete solution; even when they do deploy as designed, thousands of people are still injured and killed. Changes in Airbag Design due to Injuries Manufacturers continue to refine current technology and develop new ways to use them to enhance safety. There are some common types of airbags in use: Frontal Airbags The very first airbags were located in front of the driver, inside the hub of the steering wheel and called frontal airbags. Later, more were added behind the dashboard across from the front-seat passenger. In 1998, NHTSA required all passenger cars (and with the 1999 model year all SUVs, pick-ups and vans) to be equipped with frontal airbags. By 2007 all light vehicles were required to have advanced frontal airbags. Advanced designs were able to measure factors—such as weight and position of the occupant—to prevent airbag accidents and injuries. However, because the NHTSA requires only that certain general safety standards be met, vehicle manufacturers are free to offer airbags of varying design as long as they meet the minimum safety standards; thus, not all airbags operate the same way. Side and Roof Airbags Auto companies also offer optional side and roof airbags, as well as side-curtain airbags. Unlike frontal airbags, which are not designed to protect from injuries in rollovers, rear-end collisions, or side impact crashes, side airbags are often designed to offer additional protection from injuries for such accidents. However, these airbags, too, can cause injuries for some of the same reasons discussed above. Side Airbag Side airbags are usually of three types: those that protect the head, the chest, or the head and chest. Side airbags which are supposed to protect primarily the head from injuries are most often mounted in the roof rail above the side windows and will deploy in a serious side-impact crash. They offer protection as a curtain. The curtain is generally meant to help protect rear and front occupants in a rollover accident. Side airbags, designed primarily to protect adult passengers' chests, are mounted inside a seat or in a door. Those designed primarily to protect an adult's head and chest from injuries in airbag accidents are usually mounted on the side of a seat and are generally larger than a chest-only side airbag design. Causes of Airbag Injuries Airbags are designed to adjust to the size, weight, and position of the occupant, and to the position of the seat. Injuries usually take place when the airbag doesn’t perform according to its design specifications, deploying late, too early, or not adjusting properly. Because they deploy at speeds as high as 200 mph, they possess a significant amount of potential for injury. If an airbag deploys too early or too late it can result in head, neck, facial injuries and broken bones. If the occupant comes into contact with an airbag that is still inflating, it is traveling at up to 200 mph when it hits, which can cause brain injuries, abrasions, broken bones and more. If the occupant is thrown into a bag that is already deflating, that occupant may hit the vehicle's interior, causing injury or death, instead of the fully inflated airbag. Various factors affect deployment of advanced airbag systems (installed in all 2006 and later models), which can create the risk of airbag accidents resulting from system failures or airbag defects. Some of these factors include: Seat position. The position of the seat can affect how soon, or late, a person comes into contact with the airbag. Sensors are designed to adjust the speed of the deployment to match the seat's position. If the sensors doesn’t operate properly or if not enough sensors are installed, airbag injuries can be severe. Occupant position and weight. Where a person sits, whether middle, the side, or leaning forward, and how much a person weighs, also affects when and how the occupant will come into contact with the airbag. Sensors typically will adjust for these circumstances, but indicators are not foolproof. For instance, a lighter person holding a bag of groceries could give the sensor false information about the occupants' forward-moving velocity. Sensor failure. Sensors may also detect and make adjustments for the speed at which the vehicle is traveling, the angle of the crash, the speed at which the vehicle decelerates, and whether the occupant is wearing a seat belt. Not wearing a seat belt could cause the occupant to move forward too quickly during the initial deceleration and end up on top of the still inflating airbag, which could lead to death or serious injury. Airbag injuries and deaths can result from inadequate system designs, incomplete or hard-to-find warnings from the manufacturer, or failing sensors. Module design. The shape and size of the opening of the airbag module can affect deployment, and because the NHTSA only mandates general standards, specific design features are up to individual manufacturers. The manufacturer's choice of design could lead to unnecessary airbag accidents and injuries. Inflation and tethering volume. How the airbag is tethered affects how far into the interior of the car it deploys (this distance is also known as the airbag's excursion). The tethering and the inflated volume of the airbags, which can vary by manufacturer, may affect whether an occupant is injured during an airbag accident. Airbag accidents and airbag injuries may be the result of systems that do not take account different types of occupants or occupants' positions (because of design or parts failure, for example) or may be the result of a manufacturer not giving proper warning about potential systems failure. Airbag storing. How the airbag is folded will affect deployment speeds and force during an accident. Injuries can be caused by how an airbag is, or is not folded. Airbag material. The material used to construct an airbag can affect whether or how an occupant is injured by striking the airbag. Lighter material is better. Serious injuries can be prevented by using appropriate material. Angle of deployment during an accident. Airbag injuries can be affected by the angle of deployment, with more vertical deployments often being better than horizontal. Also important is whether the airbag has lateral-bias flaps, which could direct an airbag to the side if it strikes someone during inflation. For drivers, the angle of the steering wheel can direct an airbag higher or lower on a driver's body. Keeping the airbag away from the head and neck is usually better. Airbag deployment speed. The speed at which airbags deploy, which will be different for people weighing differently or for the position of the seat, can affect whether someone is injured. Design flaws, improper inflation, faulty information about the occupants or their seat position can all be causes of airbag accidents, injuries or death. Threshold triggers of airbag deployment. Each airbag system is designed to deploy when reaching designated trigger thresholds. These thresholds along with the speed and force of their deployment vary greatly from manufacturer to manufacturer. If these systems do not work correctly or if they were not designed properly, the risk of death and injury is from an airbag malfunction is magnified. Airbag venting. All airbags vent after deployment. How they do this might determine whether an individual strikes a fully inflated airbag or not. This element is critical to an occupants safety and could lead to an injury because of poor design or an airbag defect. Design of sensor. In order to detect as many variables as possible, some sensors use optical, infrared or electric fields to better gauge airbag deployment. However, the number and type of sensors used by a vehicle manufacturer are different (even across different models) and could also be a determining factor in when and how an airbag is deployed. Airbag defects from inadequate or poorly designed sensor systems can result in serious injury. Design limitations. Sometimes airbags don’t prevent injuries in certain accidents, such as when a vehicle hits a tree, when a car goes under a truck, or in certain head-on collisions where the deceleration might not be sudden enough to trigger deployment. Also, airbags might not be as effective in side impacts, in rollovers, or in rear-end collisions. In these cases, inadequate design, insufficient warnings, or ineffective equipment can lead to accidents as well as to airbag injuries and deaths. Common Injuries Caused by Airbag Defects The list of possible airbag injuries is long. Following is a partial list of common airbag injuries caused by airbag accidents: Death Traumatic brain injury (TBI) Spinal cord injury (SCI) Chest injury Neck and head injury Internal trauma Loss of sight, either temporary or permanent Hearing loss, either temporary or permanent Thoracic trauma Amputation of fingers and thumbs Lacerations Concussions Arm and leg fractures Burns Abrasions Defective Airbag Injury Attorney When someone suffers an injury in a motor vehicle accident and defective airbags are suspected, a qualified legal expert in airbag operation and investigation should be consulted. This area of personal injury law is complex because negligence in design, manufacture, and installation of airbag must be investigated, documented, and proven in court in order to collect financial compensation. An expert personal injury attorney experienced in vehicle crash investigations can protect an injured person’s rights to recover financial compensation for their injuries. In cases where someone has died of their injuries, immediate relatives may be eligible to recover damages and financial compensation, depending on the state the accident occurred in, their relationship to the deceased, and the length of time that has passed since the death occurred. In all of these cases, a legal expert should be consulted.