Airbag Defect and Car Accident Lawyers
Airbag Defect and Car Accident Lawyers
Airbags are supposed to protect drivers and passengers during a collision. When they fail — or malfunction in a way that causes injury on their own — the legal case is fundamentally different from an ordinary crash claim, because the defendant may be a manufacturer, not just another driver.
Understanding Airbag Defects
Airbags are engineered to deploy in milliseconds during a crash. When something goes wrong in that process, the results can be as dangerous as the crash itself:
- Failure to deploy — the airbag doesn’t inflate on impact, leaving occupants without the protection they were relying on
- Inadvertent deployment — the airbag inflates without a collision, which can itself cause a crash or serious injury
- Inflator rupture — the mechanism that inflates the airbag breaks apart, sending metal shrapnel into the vehicle cabin
These defects can stem from manufacturing errors, design flaws, or improper installation or repair. The most infamous real-world example is the Takata airbag inflator recall — the largest automotive safety recall in U.S. history, covering roughly 67 million airbags in more than 42 million vehicles. Takata’s inflators used a propellant that could degrade over time and rupture violently, and NHTSA has confirmed at least 28 deaths and thousands of injuries in the U.S. tied to the defect. Millions of affected vehicles are still unrepaired today.
The Role of an Airbag Defect Lawyer
These cases fall under product liability law, not standard negligence, and the responsibilities look different from a typical crash claim:
- Case evaluation — determining whether the airbag’s failure to deploy, or its malfunction, actually caused or worsened the injury, as distinct from the crash itself
- Evidence collection — accident reports, the vehicle’s event data recorder, maintenance and recall history, and expert analysis of the airbag system itself
- Identifying the right defendant — the vehicle manufacturer, the airbag component manufacturer, or in some cases a repair shop, depending on where the defect originated
- Negotiation and litigation — pursuing compensation for medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, and future care needs, in court if necessary
How These Cases Get Proven
- Technical analysis — experts examine the airbag system, and sometimes reconstruct the crash, to identify exactly what failed
- Manufacturer records — prior complaints, recalls, or known defects involving the same airbag model can establish a pattern the manufacturer knew about
- Witness and expert testimony — connecting the defect directly to the injury, not just to the crash
- Recall and regulatory history — checking whether the vehicle’s airbag was ever subject to a recall, and whether that recall was completed
Check Whether Your Vehicle Has an Open Recall
Before assuming a crash injury was “just bad luck,” check whether your vehicle has an open airbag recall using NHTSA’s VIN lookup tool. An unrepaired recall on your specific vehicle can be directly relevant evidence in a claim.
Protect your rights after an airbag failure
If a defective or malfunctioning airbag contributed to your injuries, you may have a product liability claim in addition to any claim against the other driver. Call the Traub Law Office at (512) 246-9191 or contact us online for a free consultation.
About Andrew Traub
