When we think about car accidents and airbags, we think about something that can save our lives. However, there are so many accidents where people were injured because of the airbag. This might sound silly, but if you are looking into it, you will realize that this is actually the truth. It is important to make sure that you are going to know everything about airbags and car accidents. This is the only way that you can ensure that the airbag is actually helping you and not causing other, more serious injuries.
As an Investigator for Law firms in years past, I have seen many clients who had these types of injuries. Some of these injuries were minor, some were more severe. The very things that were designed to save us during a car accident, injuries us in the process. I will never forget seeing a young woman who was struck head-on.
The airbag deployed, but in doing so, burned her face. However, it did limit her injuries from the accident, but deployment injured her for life. I had personal friend who was driving with her hand across the steering wheel, a car pulled out in front her and the assuming damage caused the airbag to deploy. When it deployed, it slammed her arm into her head, breaking her arm.
What is an airbag ?
It is a safety device found in most modern vehicles. It is designed to inflate quickly during a collision, cushioning the occupants of the vehicle from the impact and helping to reduce the risk of serious injury. Most cars and trucks today have more than just frontal collision safety features , they may have side, rear or curtain airbags.
How does an airbag work?
An airbag works by using a small explosive device to rapidly inflate a nylon bag when the sensor detects a collision or crash. The explosive device is triggered by a signal from the crash sensors located in the car, and it is inflated with a mixture of nitrogen and oxygen gas. The airbag is designed to provide a cushion for the head, neck and chest of the car’s occupants, protecting them from the impact of the crash.
Are airbags really assisting you from getting any serious injury?
Something that you should know is that there might be some injuries that you might have because of the deployment, but this could have been so much worse without one.
You need to understand that we don’t say that airbags are unsafe, they have saved thousands of lives before. We are just giving you all the information about airbag injuries so that you understand it better. And, it will give you a better idea about children that are sitting in the passenger seat of a vehicle with an airbag.
They can give mild injuries but can also cause some serious injuries. This is especially if it is malfunctioning and doesn’t deploy at the right moment. This is why you should do regular maintenance on the vehicle and ask that they are checking them as well.
Why does airbag injuries occur?
We don’t always think about airbag injuries. There might be even people that don’t really know that an airbag can cause some serious injuries. The impact of the airbag deploying can cause a variety of injuries that you might not have considered.
What type of injuries can I suffer?
Because an airbag is so close to your body during an accident, you can suffer mild to severe injuries from it deploying to no injuries at all. Some common airbag deployment injuries are
- Broken bones- Mostly arms or hands that are over the steering wheel during a crash
- Abrasion to the face, chest, hands
- Burns to the face, hands, or chest- caused by the inflation of the airbag
- Contusion
- Strain
- Concussion injuries
- Eye injury-Shards of metal could penetrate your eye if you have a faulty airbag
- Hearing loss
- Trauma to a fetus
- Internal bleeding
- Irritation in the throat- Breathing in the gases left over after the discharge
- Irritation of the skin
Burns to the face and Arms
Burns and abrasions because of the speed of it deploying. This injury can be mild or serious, depending on the person that was sitting in the front seat. However, the injury that you might have had without one would be a lot worse than burning and abrasions.
Chemical
The chemicals that are being used during the deployment. This can cause breathing problems and can be dangerous for someone with asthma or for younger children.
It does happen that it doesn’t deploy at the right moment. Meaning that your head might have slammed into the dashboard or steering wheel before it deploys. Then, it is going to deploy in your face and you might get facial injuries as well.
What can go wrong with an airbag deploying
- Sensor malfunction that may cause the airbag to deploy at the wrong time, or not at all
- Dangerous gases could be inhaled from the deployment or inflation
- Shards of metal can shoot through the cabin
What happens when airbag fails to deploy?
Something to consider. If it doesn’t deploy right away, then your body might be against the steering wheel or your head close to the dashboard. Then, it is slamming your body back against the seat again. Leaving you with some serious injuries. Facial fractures can also occur.
It does happen that they fail to deploy. Especially if you have purchased a car that doesn’t have a high-quality airbag system. The problem is that you won’t know how reliable the system is until you are in an accident. And, then it is too late. This is something that can happen when the vehicle was in an accident before and the airbags were damaged in the process.
Children and airbags
Airbags are saving millions of people all over the world. However, it can cause serious injury or even death among young children. This is why you should make sure that you know all about the safety for children.
Seating arrangement
Young children aren’t allowed to sit in the passenger’s seat. The deployment, the force, can be too much for a young body, and it can cause serious injuries. Suffocating against the airbag by young children is also reported.
Infants
When it comes to infants, this is the reason why their car seat should always face to the back of the vehicle. This is if the airbag is deploying, the infant will get any airbag injuries and will not suffocate against the airbag. In some countries, this is a law to have an infant facing to the rear of the car.
Wearing a seatbelt and airbags
Something that you should know, is that with some vehicles if you don’t wear your seatbelt, the airbags will not deploy. The trigger for the deployment of the airbags is normally set by the pull of the seatbelt of the driver.
If the driver doesn’t wear the seatbelt, the airbag will not deploy and you can be seriously injured. But, this isn’t the case with all vehicles. The more advanced and more expensive vehicles have other ways for the airbag to deploy. So, this is something to consider when purchasing your next vehicle. Or, you should just wear your seatbelt anyway. Too many people have died because of failing to wear their seatbelts.
Airbag safety
Airbag safety. Things that you should know and consider before you are purchasing your vehicle. First of all, you should do research on the success rate of the deployment during a car accident. And, the statistics of them deploying, without being in a car accident.
Know the safety issues with airbags and children as well, is really important. You don’t want to cause serious injury to a child, just because of the airbags. So, make sure that you know the importance of using the airbag with children. Remember that it can have the same effect to elderly people as well.
How many lives has airbags saved
They have saved 50,547 lives since inception in the united states.
Most of the newer type of vehicles have airbags. Some have just one or two, while other vehicles have side airbags as well. We all know how lifesaving they can be. But, not everyone is considering the injuries that can occur because of the them. It is important to make sure that we all have all the facts about airbags in vehicles. And, how we can protect our children from getting serious injuries because of them.
The more you learn about airbags, the better you will understand that even with these injuries, they will be able to save your life. The advice we are giving you is that you research the safety devices of the vehicle that you are planning to purchase. Then, you will know if they are reliable or not.
Takata recalls
One of the company that manufactures airbags, Takata, had the largest safety recall in history of the NHTSA. This recall affected 34 different manufactures. 67 million airbags were recalled. The problem is with the inflator. The inflator explodes and the surrounding metal housing ruptures and send shards of metal throughout the passenger cabin.
Minor car accidents may not cause airbag deployment
Some people are under the impression that any car accident should cause the airbags to deploy, this simply is not true. In some car accidents, you do not want them deploying. The deployment may cause more injury than the car accident. You want airbags to deploy when the injury caused by the car accident would be more severe.
The cost of replacing airbags is not cheap. The drivers side, is part of the steering wheel and modules have to be replaced. One might cost as much as 1000.00. Airbag deployment is not economical from an injury and auto damage standpoint unless significant damage would result to a person if they did not deploy. In most cases, severe damage to the car, but the occupants walk away or come away with less severe injuries.
In my years as an investigator I have seen some clients who wanted to sue the manufacturer for the airbags not deploying. I might add, if they would have deployed, the injuries would have been more severe and the car possibly would have been totaled. A car totaled for airbag deployment? YES. If more than two airbags go off , you may be looking at over 3k in damages. If the car is over 5 years old, combined with the other damages, it might be a total loss.
Is there anyway to prevent Airbag deployment injuries?
There a couple of things one might do to try and prevent airbag injuries, these might be
- Drive with your hands on the steering wheel, not across it.
- Do not allow children to sit were an airbag is present unless you can turn it off ( unless they are of age )
- Always wear your seatbelt
- Adjust your seat so your body is at-least 10 inches away from the steering wheel- I can tell you how many times I have seen elderly people driving with there chest almost touching the steering wheel.
- If there is a recall on your vehicle, get it fixed. It will cost you nothing to do so
These are just a few things you can do to try and prevent air bag injuries. Airbags save a lot of lives every year. I can’t tell you how many times I have seen someone walk away from a crash that looked devastating.