Key Takeaways
- Airbags are intended to protect drivers and passengers from colliding with the vehicle’s interior or other objects.
- The force and energy required to deploy an airbag in fractions of a second can cause chest injuries, internal injuries, broken ribs, lacerations, internal bleeding, and other types of injuries.
- The chemicals that deploy an airbag can cause burns and other injuries.
- Michigan’s no-fault law allows accident victims to recover damages for injuries caused by properly functioning airbags.
- Accident victims may be able to obtain damages from manufacturers for injuries caused by defective airbags.
Data published by the Michigan State Police in 2023 shows vehicles with deployed airbags had far fewer fatalities (160) than those without airbags (406), highlighting the crucial role of airbags in enhancing passenger safety.
It is clear airbags save lives. Yet, despite their critical role in your safety, airbags can often cause injuries during a car accident or even without being in a crash. If you are involved in a car crash and sustain injuries from an airbag, do not hesitate to call the car accident attorneys at Matz Injury Law.
The experienced car accident lawyers at Matz Injury Law understand the pain and suffering these injuries can cause. We can help you put an actual dollar amount to your injuries, fight insurance for a fair settlement, and even file a car accident lawsuit if needed. Call us at 866-226-6833 to set up a free consultation.
How Do Airbags Work?
Frontal airbags are tucked inside the steering wheel and front passenger side panel (in the dashboard). Many passenger vehicles today also contain side-impact airbags located in the doors. When an accident occurs, a crash sensor detects the impact and deploys the airbags.
This deployment usually occurs when you are in a near-head-on or direct head-on collision with another vehicle or structure. The timing of this deployment is crucial to protecting the driver and passenger from severe injuries.
If the impact is severe enough, it can trigger an internal ignitor, producing a gas, such as nitrogen, that fills the airbag in approximately 1/20th of a second. The airbag will then deflate quickly, potentially releasing chemicals and dust as it does so. In some instances, a crash sensor can malfunction, allowing an incorrect deployment of the airbag, which can result in serious injury.
What Are the Most Common Airbag Injuries in Michigan?
Airbag deployment, while meant to protect and save lives, can sometimes result in injury. Some of the most common airbag injuries in Michigan include the following.
- Head, neck, and brain injuries: The sheer force of the airbag deploying can cause traumatic brain injuries, concussions, swelling of the brain, whiplash, or other neck injuries.
- Eye injuries: The eyes are directly in the airbag’s path and can take on the full force of its deployment. This can cause vision loss and even permanent blindness. A powder released during deployment can also cause eye irritation.
- Dental injuries: The impact from the airbag can break, crack, chip, or loosen teeth, even knocking them out completely.
- Fractures: The force required to deploy an airbag can break bones in the jaw, upper extremities, wrists, ribs, and clavicles.
- Cuts and bruises: Airbag deployment can cause cuts, abrasions, and bruises on your face, head, neck, and upper torso. The airbag can also turn eyeglasses into shrapnel, causing further injuries.
- Hearing damage and tinnitus: An igniter creates a small explosion to deploy the airbag, producing a sound reaching 160 decibels. This is beyond what the human ear can process without sustaining hearing damage.
- Chemical burns: The airbag’s igniter causes it to fill with gas. A collision with the airbag can cause chemical burns on the face, hands, arms, or chest. These burns can be second or third-degree and require immediate medical treatment.
What Should I Do If I am Injured By My Airbag During a Michigan Car Accident?
Thoughts and events can quickly become overwhelming after a car accident. Yet, if your airbag injures you, there are steps you need to take.
1. Call Emergency Services as Soon as Possible
Following the accident, call emergency services. Burns and other injuries are severe and should be treated as soon as possible. First responders can start treating you at the accident scene, which can be essential to the severity of the injury and required healing time. Immediate treatment for burns, in particular, will be highly beneficial.
2. Save Your Airbag
If you sustain injuries due to a faulty airbag or crash sensor, you must keep them as evidence. Even if you are unsure whether or not it is defective, save it anyway for examination. Your car accident attorney can use this as evidence in your injury claim or a personal injury lawsuit.
3. Contact a Personal Injury Attorney
Once you receive medical attention for your injuries, contact a personal injury attorney with experience representing those injured in car accidents for legal advice.
When Can I Sue for Airbag Injuries?
In certain circumstances, accident victims can sue if they sustain an airbag injury during an accident and the airbag does not function as designed. In this scenario, they may have a case for a defective product if the following apply:
- The airbag does not deploy during a crash
- Airbag deploys unexpectedly for no reason
- Airbag deploys with excessive force
Getting hit by an airbag can cause serious injury and pain, and, in some cases, chemicals released by the airbag can cause injury. To successfully win your case, you will need to prove:
- The product was defective in design, manufacture, or installation
- The injury was caused by the defectiveness of the airbag
- You correctly used the airbag
An experienced personal injury attorney will know how to gather evidence and present a strong case.
Can I File a Claim If My Airbag Caused an Injury During a Car Accident?
If an airbag is functioning correctly but still causes injuries in a car crash, you can file a claim for injuries under Michigan’s no-fault law. This allows you to recover damages from your insurance company. You might be able to sue the at-fault driver if you suffered severe injuries.
Defective airbags can also cause injuries. For example, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recalled millions of cars with Takata airbags because of serious or fatal injuries. You may be able to sue the automaker or the airbag manufacturer for damages in these kinds of situations.
Can I Sue if My Airbags Didn’t Deploy in a Motor Vehicle Accident?
Yes, if your airbags do not deploy in a crash, you can potentially have a lawsuit if you can prove liability in one of two ways:
- Negligence: If airbags are not inserted properly or correctly repaired, any action causing a failure to deploy that was preventable provides grounds for negligence.
- Strict Liability: The victim must prove that their injuries were the direct result of an airbag not deploying; if strict liability is demonstrated, the manufacturer can be held liable without the victim needing to show negligence.
Under either legal theory, you can be awarded economic and non-economic damages if injured.
Who Is Eligible to Sue for Airbag-Related Injuries
Individuals injured by an airbag can be the driver or a passenger in the vehicle when the airbag did not deploy as designed or did not deploy at all. In a scenario where a vehicle was traveling slower than the mph it is designed to deploy, and the car was in a crash with no airbag deployment, the individual would not be able to sue since the safety features built into the airbag operated as they were supposed to.
Who is Liable for Injuries Caused by Airbag Deployment?
Depending on what occurred during the accident causing the airbag-related injuries, you may be able to bring a lawsuit against the airbag manufacturer, installer, sensor manufacturer, vehicle manufacturer, mechanic, dealership, inspector, or another third party (e.g., an auto shop that worked on the car). In some cases, the at-fault driver could be liable for damages when the airbag in the injured person’s car had been deployed correctly.
What Damages Can I Seek After an Airbag Injury in Michigan?
Personal injury victims can pursue both economic and non-economic damages.
Economic damages are those for which you receive bills, such as medical expenses, medications, or physical therapy, to name a few. Additionally, you can pursue other quantifiable financial losses, such as lost wages, loss of future wages, and other qualifying damages.
Non-economic damages are a little harder to ascertain; however, accident victims can also pursue non-quantifiable losses. Examples of damages include pain and suffering, disfigurement, scarring, loss of enjoyment of life, loss of consortium, and others.
Proving Fault For Airbag-Related Injuries
In court, you must demonstrate a few factors to prove fault in an airbag personal injury case.
- Product defectiveness was present, such as poor manufacturing, design, and installation. Your attorney can obtain a testimony to support any airbag failures.
- Injury or loss occurred because of a defective airbag.
- The at-fault party is likely to try to argue improper use of the airbag caused your injury. Your attorney will need to prove you were operating your motor vehicle reasonably.
Airbag-related lawsuits can be complex, but if you feel the airbag caused you or your loved one injury, it is worth the effort to pursue a personal injury claim.
Why Clients Choose Matz Injury Law
The attorneys at Matz Injury Law have many years of experience helping accident victims recover damages. We listen to clients and work with them to get the most out of their injury claims. Recent successes include:
- A $4.15 million settlement for a Washtenaw County motorcycle accident
- A $3.45 million settlement for a Genesee County truck accident
- A $1.3 million settlement for a car/truck collision in Monroe County
Testimonials
“My family is grateful for Steve Matz’s professional handling of our case. Steve was very thorough, candid, responsive, and strategic in his approach throughout our legal proceedings. If ever in a situation again like my family has experienced over the past year, we would immediately retain Matz Injury Law to represent our interests. Thank you Steve.” – John P.
“I reached out to Steve after my car accident and even without paying him he was there for me. Offered me advice and told me everything I needed to know about what my insurance company owed me. He cares about people and it shows!” – Kyanna W.
“Not only are Steve and his staff friendly, they are awesome; knowledgeable and fun to work with. I would recommend them to my friends and family. Thank you again Matz Injury Law.” – Julie K.
Related Resources
- Car Accident PTSD & Mental Trauma (Everything You Should Know): Learn more about the mental health injuries that can result from Michigan car accidents.
- Understanding Whiplash And TMJ After a Car Accident: Accident victims can suffer severe head, jaw, and neck injuries.
- 2024 Guide to Michigan Car Accident Lawsuits: This guide provides an up-to-date overview of the legal process for accident injury claims in Michigan.
Recover Four Times the Compensation for Your Airbag Injury with Matz Injury Law
When it comes to injuries sustained in an auto accident, you will not only need time to heal but also compensation to cover expenses, lost wages, and more.
Recent surveys show that having legal representation leads to higher personal injury payouts today. Those who hired a personal injury lawyer to help with their case received, on average, $77,600, while those on their own walked away with only $17,600. In most cases, the lawyer charged a 33% contingency fee.
To improve upon this, Matz Injury Law only charges a 22% contingency fee, leaving you with more money to recover from your injuries. In other words, you are more likely to recover four times the compensation for your airbag injury with the help of our law firm.
Do not let the insurance company bully you into accepting a low settlement. Call our office today at 866-226-6833 or use our online contact form to schedule a free case evaluation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, the force of the impact with an airbag can cause facial injuries, including a broken nose.
An airbag should deploy when the car experiences a sufficiently significant impact. If it does not deploy because of a defective airbag or a sensor, you may be able to file a claim for damages against the manufacturer.
Airbag deployment systems use sodium azide or sodium hydroxide to inflate the airbag in a few fractions of a second. As the airbag deploys, these chemicals are released as dust that can cause various injuries, including:
- Chemical burns
- Skin or eye irritation
- Headaches
- Blurred vision
- Asthma attacks and other breathing problems
Essentially, airbags will deploy during a moderate to severe crash – usually the equivalent of hitting a solid, fixed barrier at 8-14 mph, according to the NHTSA. This deployment threshold occurs in both frontal and side airbags, depending on the type of crash.
Airbags are designed to save lives and reduce injuries during a motor vehicle accident. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that over a 30-year period, frontal airbags saved over 50,000 lives.
Unfortunately, there is a risk of injury from seat belts. Their effectiveness is maximized when vehicle occupants in driver and passenger seats wear seat belts.
In some instances, when an airbag deploys, it can cause chemical and friction-related burns for drivers and passengers. This is because an electrical charge ignites a chemical, converting it to nitrogen gas and inflating the airbag, which can result in an airbag burn injury.
If you or a loved one suffers from an airbag burn and ongoing medical treatment is unnecessary, you should cover the wounds with a clean and dry bandage. Your healthcare professional may suggest putting antibacterial cream on your injury to prevent an infection. Your doctor may also recommend using ice packs for swelling. To soothe red, burnt, or itchy skin, wear cool clothes.
A healthcare professional should always look at pain in the chest and other injuries.
Anytime you are on the road, there is a potential for an accident. Much like you would take precautions to reduce the chance of a crash, you can take proactive steps to prevent a potential airbag injury.
- Maintain a safe distance from the steering wheel
- Always wear your seatbelt and insist passengers wear theirs
- Maintain an upright seat position
- Avoid dashboard objects
- Install an airbag on-off switch
- Avoid traveling in seats with airbags while pregnant
- Seat children away from airbags in the backseat and, if applicable, in child safety seats
The most important thing you can do is sit as reasonably far away from the steering wheel as possible and have front-seat passengers sit as far away from the dashboard. Leave 10 inches between yourself and the area where the airbag will deploy to prevent injury.
