Many people have a preconceived idea that airbags are like cuddly pillows, napping away in steering wheels and dashboards. In reality, airbags are tightly packed explosive devices, always less than a second away from springing into action.
When deployed, a sophisticated chemical reaction produces nitrogen gas that fills these nylon-fabric cushions within 50 milliseconds amid a cloud of white dust. While the goal of an airbag is to spread out deceleration across a person’s body and prevent a vehicle’s occupants from striking the windshield or dashboard in the event of an accident, airbags themselves can cause more damage than the actual collision. If you or a loved one has been hurt by an airbag, it is important to contact a GA airbag injury lawyer. The personal injury attorneys at the Mann Law Firm can help by reviewing your circumstances and discussing all available legal options.
Call us at (478) 742-3381 or fill out our online form. In addition to cases handled in Macon, we are prepared to handle claims on behalf of clients in Dublin, Warner Robins, Milledgeville and other Georgia communities. We would like to meet with you to discuss your case, and we are proud to offer free initial consultations.
How They Work
The first airbag design was patented in 1953 as a “safety cushion assembly for automotive vehicles.” The inventor was searching for a way to reduce injuries during emergency braking as well as frontal collisions – and he found it. From the first crude prototypes evolved a system that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates — when combined with a lap and shoulder belt — reduces the risk of death by 51 percent. In fact, airbags are considered to be supplemental restraints and are not meant to be used without a seatbelt.
When a certain threshold is met or exceeded and the airbag control unit determines an accident has occurred, inflation is activated with the force of close to 200 miles per hour. The airbag fills the space between the person and the steering wheel or dashboard, begins to deflate, and cools – all within half the time it takes to blink an eye.
Airbag injuries can be very serious. Many are likely to be fatal or to cause permanent health issues. Examples include:
- Asthma attacks
- Brain injury
- Broken bones
- Bruising
- Burns
- Chemical poisoning
- Eye damage
- Hearing loss
- Internal bleeding
- Scarring/disfigurement.
Causes of Injury
And if a malfunctioning sensor causes that deployment to happen when there is no crash, you can imagine how startling it could be! Airbags that deploy inadvertently, fail to deploy, deploy too early, deploy too late or deploy over-aggressively can all cause injuries or fatalities. The effects of manufacturing and design defects in an airbag system have been on unparalleled display with the recent recall of 30 million vehicles due to defective Takata airbags, which can explode suddenly and send metal fragments flying into the passenger compartment. Several deaths and more than 100 injuries have been linked to these airbags. Deployment gone wrong, forceful impacts, dangerous explosions, and toxic chemical exposure are all real concerns.
Contact Our Georgia Airbag Injury Lawyers
If you were injured or lost a loved one due to an exploding airbag in a car, SUV or truck, the Macon airbag injury attorneys of the Mann Law Firm can help. We aggressively seek full and fair compensation for our clients and are always willing to take a case to trial if necessary. The compensation available in a defective airbag claim may include payment of medical bills, compensation for lost wages and future lost income, compensation for pain and suffering, and for emotional distress. If you lost a loved one due to airbag injuries, you could be entitled to compensation in a wrongful death claim. We have been successfully litigating personal injury cases across Georgia for over 50 years.
Our job is to examine the circumstances of what caused the accident while focusing on our client’s future. With our experience, we know how to seek compensation from all possible sources, and we will carefully calculate your past, current and future losses to get you the best possible recovery. While we cannot guarantee the outcome of any case, we can promise to listen, to advise, and to deliver unwavering legal advocacy on your behalf. Contact us at (478) 742-3381 or use this convenient online contact form. Let us help you.
Attorney David Mann
Before leading his own firm, Mann served for several years as in-house defense counsel for a large insurance company, which gives him unique insight into how insurance companies work. He uses this critical knowledge as an advantage for his clients. He is a tough negotiator and litigator, and he is exceptionally strategic in building cases on behalf of personal injury victims.[ Attorney Bio ]
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