How Airbags Work
Airbags consist of a light fabric. They are placed in the steering wheel of the driver’s side, and the dashboard panel of the passenger’s side. The airbag is about the size of a large beach ball when inflated fully. Additional airbags may be installed in the doors on the vehicle, just in case of a side-impact accident. The airbag is connected to a sensor in the car that will trigger it to deploy if the car gets into a collision over approximately 10MPH. The airbag deploys quickly, at a rate of only a fraction of a second. After deployment, the airbag will deflate promptly, but may have released dust and other chemicals that can irritate the eyes and skin.
As your airbag accident lawyer in Atlanta may inform you during a consultation, the most common error for airbag deployment has to do with the crash sensor. There are several ways the sensor may not work properly, including:
- Malfunctioning at the wrong time, such as not during a car accident
- Not deploying at all in the event of a crash
- The sensor only deploying the driver’s or passenger’s side, but not both
- The airbag deploying too late
And because the timing of airbag deployment is so imperative to effectiveness, anytime it doesn’t work as it is supposed to can cause injury to those inside the vehicle. If you are dealing with injuries due to an airbag malfunction, then please call Butler Kahn today to speak with a personal injury lawyer from Butler Kahn for help. You may be entitled to compensation from the airbag or vehicle manufacturer.
Airbag Injuries
A malfunctioning airbag and/or sensor can lead to serious injuries, and potentially death. The speed at which the airbag deploys can cause burns or abrasions. The chemicals that release into the air during deployment and deflation can irritate breathing airways and trigger an asthma attack. The airbag may also cause severe damage to the eyes of either the driver or passenger. If you have medical documentation or other proof related to your airbag injuries, please obtain copies of these to share with your Atlanta airbag accident lawyer during your appointment.
We understand the changes to your life and health that a car accident or airbag malfunction may have caused. Please call Butler Kahn to speak with an airbag accident lawyer in Atlanta for a free starter case evaluation.
*Please note that cases in which an airbag failed to deploy (i.e., when the airbag didn’t come out) during the crash are difficult cases. We are happy to talk with you about your case, but there are a two things you should know about such cases before we get on the phone. First, proving causation – i.e., proving that the airbag would have prevented the injury if it had deployed – is often difficult. We would have to show that the crash was severe enough that the airbag should have deployed but not so severe that the airbag could have prevented the injury. Second, litigating these cases against deep-pocketed automakers is very difficult. It takes years and costs well into the hundreds of thousands of dollars (sometimes above $1 million) to hire all the experts and perform all the tests that are required to handle these cases correctly. For that reason, we are unable to accept airbag cases that do not involve catastrophic, life-altering personal injuries or death.
