Airbag Injuries
Airbags were created as safety features to be included in cars and trucks and gained widespread use beginning in the 1980s. Airbags are designed to rapidly inflate when the vehicle is involved in a collision in order to prevent passengers in the car from hitting the dashboard, steering wheel or the windshield. Airbags are meant to be an additional safety feature, to be used in conjunction with a seat belt, to increase the likelihood of surviving an accident. Due to many lives being saved by airbags in high-speed front-end collisions, driver and passenger side airbags have become standard under federal law on all new vehicles as of September 1, 1998. Side airbags and the new curtain airbags are not yet mandated by law to come standard on new vehicles, but they are becoming increasingly popular.
Airbag Injuries and Death
Even though airbags are designed as safety features to ensure additional protection in collisions, they may pose a substantial risk of eye injury or serious bodily injury to children, teenagers and small adults. The force in which an airbag inflates when an accident occurs may even pose a risk of death in small children and adults that are small in stature. Airbags are designed to inflate in order to protect an average sized man, approximately 5'9" and 165 pounds, from striking the dashboard or steering wheel in a collision. Some airbags are propelled at upwards of 200 miles per hour during a crash. Smaller adults, often times women, sit closer to the steering wheel than the 10 to 12 inches suggested for airbag safety, so that they may comfortably reach the pedals. The airbag being propelled so quickly at close range may injure these small adults who are close to the steering wheel. Airbags have the potential to cause severe eye injuries as well as head and neck trauma. Some studies show that airbags may cause bruising in the eye socket, bleeding of the eyeball or other injuries that may result in blindness.
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Children are at risk of severe head trauma or a broken neck while sitting in the front passenger seat, if the airbag is deployed. The power in which the airbag deploys out could severely injure small children. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, reports show that since 1990, 231 people have died from air bag related injuries. Out of the 231 people who died, 144 were children. Car manufacturers are required by law to post warnings in their cars that airbags may injure children 12 and under upon inflation. The warning also advises against seating children in the front seat where the airbag deploys.
Questions and Consultations
If you or a family member has been injured by a deployed airbag and you feel that you may need legal representation in this matter or are interested in more information on airbag litigation, please fill out the free case evaluation form and an experienced attorney with Seeger Weiss LLP will assist you in evaluating your case concerning airbag injuries. Attorney consultations incur no obligation on your part and all initial consultations are free of charge.
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