Automobile accidents can happen in the blink of an eye. Most modern vehicles come equipped with standard safety features like an airbag, which are designed to reduce the risk of life-threatening injuries in the event of a car collision. While airbags have saved countless lives, defective devices have unfortunately also been the cause of severe injuries and even deaths. If you have been a victim of a faulty airbag during a car crash, it is pertinent to know that you have the option to exercise your legal right by filing a personal injury lawsuit. But before getting into the details, the article will explore how and what types of injuries airbags can cause and what you should do to deal with such a situation effectively.
How Do Faulty Airbags Cause Injuries?
Airbags can malfunction and result in injuries in various ways. Some of the most common causes include:
- The device not inflating at the right time due to sensor or mechanical problem
- Inflating with explosive force
- Not fully inflating, despite being deployed
- Deploying in a low impact collision
- Failing to deploy at all
It is important to note that airbags deploy with speeds of up to 200 mph. This significant amount of force creates a massive impact when it hits the body, having a great potential to cause catastrophic injuries to occupants.
Types of Airbag Injuries
As per stats from NHTSA, airbags have saved 50,457 lives from 1987 to 2017. With that said, they have also been the source of numerous life-threatening and immobilizing injuries, which can cause chronic issues and disability. These include but are not limited to bone fractures, neck and spinal cord injuries, concussions or traumatic brain injuries, eye injuries, chemical abrasion and burns, crushed limbs, and more. In some cases, a faulty airbag injury could prove to be fatal.
What To Do After the Accident?
If you or a loved one have suffered injuries due to a faulty airbag, then it is normal to feel troubled, confused and overwhelmed about what to do next. However, it is crucial to know that you may have the option to file a legal claim and seek compensation for your losses under the product liability law.
But before you proceed, it is vital to ensure a few things to build a solid claim against the manufacturer. Perhaps the most crucial thing you can do to pave the way for your legal counsel to put together a convincing claim is to preserve all available evidence related to the product. That means it is imperative to hold onto the possession of your vehicle after the accident and not give for repairs until you have consulted your attorney and have gotten it inspected by investigators.
Furthermore, don’t throw away any associated parts of the faulty airbag, as they can serve as valuable evidence during the litigation process by helping prove that your injuries are attributable to a defective airbag. These include the crash sensor, airbag itself, and the car computer. Without these, building a convincing claim and negotiating a fair compensation will be an uphill task for your legal team.
Why Seek Compensation?
Car accidents can be devastating, and the road to recovery is often a distressing one. Besides the physical pain, you also have to cope with the emotional and psychological trauma that follows. To rub salt into the wound, you are left to pay hefty medical bills without an income stream, all due to injuries caused by someone else’s negligence. That makes everything so much worse. Therefore, you need someone to stand up for your rights and deliver the justice you deserve.
To seek compensation for any Las Vegas car accident airbag injuries, you must contact a reputed and skilled attorney to file a claim for damages on your behalf. That can significantly make the recovery process smoother by reducing the financial burden on you. It will help you maintain your standard of living during these uncertain times, all while holding those responsible accountable for selling a faulty product.
Hiring a Personal Injury Attorney
Consulting an experienced personal injury attorney is your best bet to seek a favorable outcome for your injury claim. Proving that a faulty airbag contributed to your injuries or made them worse is a challenging task for plaintiffs.
Airbags go through extensive testing and manufacturers have highly qualified teams of attorneys representing their interests. It takes a highly skilled and experienced attorney to stand up to powerful legal counsels and demonstrate in the court of law the extent to which an airbag malfunction caused your injuries. Your attorney will be up to the task from day one by sweating the details of your accident, gathering evidence, and guiding you the way forward.
Airbags are put in place to provide safety and protection to passengers from life-threatening injuries during a collision. But when they do not function as per their intended purpose and become a source of harm, the law dictates that victims have a right to file a lawsuit against the manufacturer or distributor of the product and obtain compensation for losses incurred.
You must note that there is a limited time in which you may file a personal injury claim. Therefore, the sooner you connect with an attorney, the better it is.
