Rollover & Airbag Injury Lawsuits
Failure to Deploy / Inflate, Delayed Deployment, Defective Airbag Sensors, Unnecessary Airbag Injuries & Deaths in Rollover Accidents & Wrecks
 Airbag injury lawsuits have been filed due to injuries and deaths resulting from overly aggressive airbag deployments and non-deployments and/or non inflations. The injuries from aggressive air bag deployment include severe whiplash, eye injuries, blindness, degloving, partial decapitation, paraplegia, quadriplegia and even death. Non deployment of side airbags or roof airbags in a rollover accident can mean the difference in life and death. A roof mounted side curtain or rollover airbag system can help prevent head strikes or head impacts with the ground or pavement during a rollover accident. In product liability litigation, airbags are often referred to by many different names, including aggressive airbags, less aggressive airbags, non aggressive airbags, smart airbags, depowered airbags, next generation air bags, second generation airbags, passenger side airbag, driver side airbag, roof mounted airbags, rollover airbags, side impact airbag, air bag, and just plain old "airbags".
 Airbag manufacturers and auto makers, argue that air bags have been proved effective in doing the job for which they were designed. However, an air bag that saves an adult's life can kill a child. Manufacturers started installing driver side airbags in the late-1980's, on the passenger side by the early-1990's and in light trucks in the mid-1990's. Most airbags that came equipped in vehicles manufactured prior to 1998, did not have a dual stage or two stage airbags. These dual stage air bags are also referred to as next generation airbags or smart airbags. These pre-1998 airbags were much more aggressive than they needed to be especially at lower speeds. At lower speeds and with smaller passengers and drivers, especially women and children, the excessive force of being hit by the airbag at speeds up to 200 mph, can have devastating results. Serious injuries including whiplash, eye injuries, blindness, degloving, partial decapitation, quadriplegia and even death resulted from the air bag's deployment. The basic airbag system consists of three basic components - an airbag module, air bag crash sensors and a diagnostic unit or computer module. Some airbag systems may also have a switch which allows the passenger side airbag to be deactivated. Airbag sensors measure vehicle deceleration, therefore the vehicle speed and severity of damage are not always good indicators of whether or not an airbag should have deployed. In most rollovers, airbags do not deploy due to the deceleration of the vehicle during a delayed rollover sequence. Additionally an airbag deployment during a rollover may increase the injury to the occupant if that person is out of position or the seatbelt is not working as designed.
Safety of Chrysler & Dodge Vehicles Probed
Federal agency is taking a closer look at 1.16 million vans, suvs and trucks for potential airbag system defects. Safety of Chrysler and Dodge vehicles is in question. A few vehicle models under investigation include:
 Some model airbags actually have known to deploy when the driver starts the vehicle or while they are just driving down the road. In both cases, severe injuries often result. Once an airbag deploys, deflation begins immediately as the gas escapes through vent holes in the fabric. Airbags are supposed to be fully inflated before the passenger falls into it during a crash. Serious injuries can occur when airbags, which can travel at speeds up to 175-200 mph, hit occupants prior to full inflation. Others can be seriously injured or blinded by improper / defectively designed seams or folds in the airbag itself. Other airbags are known to fail as a result of defective sensors due to corrosion from water or moisture. In those cases, the airbag may not deploy at all or may only partially deploy in an accident.
Frontal airbags are not designed to deploy in side impact, rear impact or rollover collisions. Just like frontal airbags are designed to deploy in moderate to severe frontal collisions, side impact or side curtain airbags are designed to deploy in moderate to severe side impact and angular impacts. Roof mounted airbags or roof curtain airbags greatly reduce head injuries in rollover accidents too. Properly working safety belts are essential in any auto collision and rollover accident. Seatbelts help keep vehicle occupants away from airbags when they are inflating/ deploying, thus reducing the chances of airbag-induced injuries. In addition, properly working seatbelts or safety belts help position the occupant properly to get the maximum benefit from the airbag deployment.
Free Rollover - Airbag Lawsuit Evaluation
If you or a member of your family has been involved in a SUV rollover accident, van rollover, truck rollover or wreck in which an airbag failed to deploy or deployed unexpectedly, partially deployed or too aggressively deployed and the occupant was seriously injured or killed, then call us now. Call the Ammons - Willis Law Firms at 1-800-883-9858 for a Free & Confidential Airbag Failure or Product Liability Case Consultation or fill out our Online Airbag Injury Case Evaluation Form below:
|
1-800-883-9858
