Defective Air Bags

Defective air bags or air bag defects occur when an airbag does not function properly during an auto accident and the occupant of a vehicle incurs a more serious injury that would have occurred if the air bag is not defective. Typical injuries during serious automobile accidents include head injury, paralysis, spinal cord injury, brain injury and death. Air bag safety is a key factor in crashworthiness. Frontal air bags have been required in vehicles since 1998. Side air bags are now being added to many vehicle designs and are offered as a standard or optional feature on many vehicle models. Air bags are also included in the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards. The lawyers of the Law Offices of Pat Maloney are skilled personal injury lawyers in San Antonio Texas who have experience helping victims who have suffered personal injuries related to defective airbags during auto accidents.

Frontal Airbags

Frontal airbags are designed to deploy in the case of a minor or severe vehicle collision during auto accidents. They are typically located in the steering wheel and under the glove compartment. The inflation of the airbag occurs rapidly at the time of the collision and creates a buffer of "air" between the interior surfaces of the vehicle and the vehicle occupants. Frontal air bags are typically only in the front seat and are designed primarily to protect from trauma caused by an occupant striking her or his head on the dashboard, windshield or steering wheel. Frontal airbags are designed primarily for protection during a frontal collision and they inflate only briefly. They provide no protection during accidents involving rear-end collisions, rollovers or side impact collisions.

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Side Impact Air Bags

Side Impact Air Bags are designed to protect vehicle occupants during an accident caused by a side impact. These air bags are normally located in the back seat, the door or overhead vehicle roof area. The location of the air bag depends on the type of protection offered. For head protection from striking the interior of the car, the airbag is located in the overhead roof. The airbags offering chest protection are located in the side of the seat or the door. There are also airbags that are so called combination airbags, designed to simultaneously protect head and chest. Unlike frontal airbags, the side air bags typically stay inflated for a few seconds in order to protect the head and chest from striking the interior car surfaces during a rollover.

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How Airbags Work

Airbags are controlled by an electronic unit that is tied to a special sensor in the car. This sensor, called an accelerometer, senses a sudden change in car speed, as would occur during a collision. The accelerometer sends a signal to the airbag electronic control unit and this unit then activates the airbags. Airbags are designed to provide protection for an average sized male vehicle occupant during a severe collision. If the occupant is smaller than the average male, such as a young child or an adult with small stature, then the airbags can cause injuries when deployed. The airbag control unit is always on in most vehicles. However, in certain vehicles, there is an on/off airbag switch that would allow the ability to turn off the airbag control unit in cases where a small stature occupant is in the front seat. Also, if the accident is low speed, then activation of the airbag designed for a high speed, collision can cause injury.

Airbags are designed to inflate very quickly, and then deflate after the potential for injury has passed.

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Air Bag Standards

Air bag standards are covered by Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208, Occupant Crash Protection. This standard originally was designed to define the required occupant restraints (seat belts) but was later expanded to focus on all safety and crashworthiness issues related to frontal collisions. Air bags were first included in 1996 and were required in 1997. This standard does not specify the design of the airbags, only that they are required to be in the vehicles.

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Typical Air Bag Defects

Air bags can be defective in a number of ways. The device can fail to activate during an accident due to the sensor or the control unit, the airbag can activate too slowly or the air bags can deploy too forcefully causing injury. Because airbags are designed to protect adult men in a severe crash situation, many injuries have occurred just because of the design of the airbag, even though technically the airbag functioned properly. There is a clear need to upgrade the standards for airbags so that they can protect a wider range of the population for the devastating injuries that can occur during a vehicle accident. Also, cost savings during the manufacturing process have lead to the use of "cheap" sensors and other components that make the airbag act improperly. If manufacturers have "cut corners" in producing air bags and someone is hurt due to an air bag defect, then the victim or family members may be entitled to compensation.

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Types of Airbag Injuries

Of course, the most severe type of injury that can be caused by an airbag is a fatality due to a failure to activate. During low speed accidents when airbags deploy too aggressively, then face and eye damage can occur. Eye damages include cornea scarring, retinal detachments, ruptured eyeballs, and other eye damage.

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