Pittsburgh Attorneys For Injuries Caused By

Defective Airbags

When a car accident or collision occurs, a crash sensor is triggered in the vehicle which instructs the onboard computer to deploy the airbags. Unfortunately, most airbag-related injuries occur when this process malfunctions or a defect is present.

The timing of an airbag deployment is crucial and the split-second required can be the determination between saving a passenger’s life or potentially causing additional injury related to the collision. The momentum that an airbag is propelled at is enough to cause serious injuries, including wrongful death.

The attorneys at Schiffman Firm have delivered results to clients and victims of airbag injuries for decades and we have the expertise and knowledge to represent all types of injuries sustained.

If you were hurt by a defective airbag contact our attorneys today for a free review of your case.

An airbag will deploy in “the blink of any eye.” In fact, when a crash sensor sends the signal to inflate and deploy the vehicle’s airbag, it does so at speeds near or over 200mph ¹. Keep in mind, that most passengers and drivers are less than arm’s length away from their airbags. When you consider that, it’s easy to understand how an airbag, especially one with a flaw, could be extremely dangerous.

One of the largest automobile recalls in United States history was the result of airbag failures and related injuries caused by the Takata airbag ².

It was determined that the propellant used to inflate the airbag was prone to exploding upon impact and would disperse shards of metal at the driver and passengers – causing a variety of personal injuries. Nearly all carmakers and manufacturers had vehicles with Takata airbag components including Toyota, Nissan, Honda, Ford, GM, Chrysler, Honda, Mazda, and BMW.

While most experts will agree that airbags have saved more lives than they have hurt, that type of force is still capable of causing severe injury or wrongful death if a malfunction or factory defect occurs in the milliseconds it takes for the airbags to deploy.

1. Airbag Inflation – HowStuffWorks.com
2. Takata Air Bag Recall: What You Need To Know – NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration)

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHSA) has a useful tool that will allow you to look for safety issues and recalls by simply entering the VIN (Vehicle Identification Number) of your vehicle. You can access the lookup tool here.