Airbags are a standard feature in most new vehicles, and have been credited with significantly reducing accident fatalities and reducing the severity of injuries suffered in accidents. However, there are some circumstances in which airbags fail to deploy correctly or at all, or malfunction in such a way that causes injury to the vehicle’s occupants.
Any injury claim over an airbag would fall under the category of a product liability suit. There are several categories of product liability claims that could fit:
- Defective manufacturing: In such a claim, there would have been some error while manufacturing the airbag. A failure to properly install a certain component in the airbag would potentially make the manufacturer liable for any injuries resulting from the defect.
- Defective design: If a claim alleges a defective design, it means the airbag has a flaw in the product design that makes it unreasonably dangerous even when properly manufactured. This includes airbags that might deploy with excessive force, or have a design defect that makes them likely to explode and cause injury. Product recalls are often used for vehicles with defectively designed airbags.
- Failure to warn: Such a claim alleges a product did not have sufficient warnings of associated dangers on its instructions. Airbags, for example, must include warnings about children riding in the front seat.
For more information about the steps you should take if you’ve been injured in an accident by a defective airbag, contact an experienced Bradenton, FL personal injury lawyer at Goldman, Babboni, Fernandez & Walsh.