Can You Sue if Airbags Don’t Deploy?

When a car accident occurs and the airbags don’t deploy, drivers and passengers could suffer serious injuries that should have been avoided.

Crash sensors are supposed to deploy the airbags within a fraction of a second of a crash. Defective sensors, faulty wiring or a damaged electronic unit can render airbags useless. After years of technological advances in all car parts, there is still a chance your vehicle could have airbags that are controlled by a poorly designed electronic system.

Crash investigators have seen one airbag deploy protecting one passenger, but other airbags don’t deploy within the same vehicle. This could indicate that not every airbag was equipped with a sensor upon manufacturing, a potentially deadly cost-cutting measure by the automobile company.

Airbags also have been known to deploy at the wrong time. If they fail to deploy in time, they actually can increase the risk of injuries. While fatalities have been reduced an estimated 30 percent since the introduction of airbags, malfunctioning airbags can cause serious problems since the safety components deploy at 200 miles an hour in order to protect the vehicle’s inhabitants.

In some cases, the airbags’ deployment agent can degrade over time, resulting in airbags that explode. Defective Takata airbags have been linked to at least 20 deaths and more than 180 injuries. Right now nearly 180 makes and models are affected by the Takata airbag issue. See the full list here.

Injuries Caused When Airbags Don’t Deploy Properly

More than 37 million vehicles have been sold or leased that contain Takata airbags that don’t deploy properly.

These flawed Takata airbags can explode with such tremendous force they cause severe injuries or even death. The airbag inflator is a metal cartridge filled with a propellant that allows an airbag to deploy quickly in an accident. A faulty airbag inflator can cause the airbag to burst forth with an extreme force because the inflator lacks enough of a drying agent designed to temper the force of the explosion.

The chemical responsible for the airbags’ deployment is ammonium nitrate, the same chemical used to make bombs. This chemical can deteriorate when it’s introduced to extreme temperature and humidity changes. The deterioration makes the chemical burn too quickly, resulting in the metal canister’s explosion.

Even though Takata airbags have been recalled only a relatively small number of vehicles have been repaired. This means many people are driving and riding in vehicles who have no idea the airbags may not deploy correctly in the event of a collision.

Serious injuries such as spinal cord injury, shrapnel injury, eye injury, rib fractures, head injury, facial injury, chemical burns from the airbag propellant and even death can occur when airbags don’t deploy properly. Some pregnant women have experienced a premature rupture of membranes caused by an airbag deploying improperly.

Being involved in a car accident is traumatic on its own, but being injured by something designed to protect you adds a layer of betrayal. If you have been in an accident and experienced that the airbags don’t deploy properly in your vehicle, you could benefit from speaking with a lawyer regarding your legal options.

Were You Affected by the Takata Airbag Defect?

The Takata airbag recall affects over 37 million vehicles sold or leased under dozens of different brands, including:

• Acura
• Audi
• BMW
• Cadillac
• Chevrolet
• Chrysler
• Daimler
• Sprinter
• Sterling Bullet
• Ferrari
• Dodge/Ram
• Fisker
• Ford
• GMC
• Honda
• Infiniti
• Jaguar
• Jeep
• Land Rover
• Lexus
• Lincoln
• Mazda
• McLaren
• Mercedes-Benz
• Mercury
• Mitsubishi
• Nissan
• Pontiac
• Saab
• Saturn
• Scion
• Subaru
• Tesla
• Toyota
• Volkswagen

If you have owned or leased a vehicle under any of the brands above, you may qualify to file your own airbag lawsuit or Takata class action lawsuit.
You can find a full list of makes, models and model years on our Defective Airbag Recall Investigation Page.

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