Can Airbags Cause You Injury?

A little bit about the Airbags

Airbags, as you know, are a type of automobile safety restrain, as a seatbelt replacement. Airbags were invented in 1950s to prevent injuries sustained in auto accidents and became more common in the 1980s. Airbags are like cushions which that are gas filled - it takes only a faction of a second for an airbag to inflate after an impact. Airbags are basically created based on the average height and weight of the people who designed it, or rather the national average height/weight. They are designed in a way to help an occupant to get protected from serious injuries by distributing the crash forces more evenly across the victim's body.

Airbags are of two types based on its location, frontal and the various types of side-impact airbags. Airbags are usually built into steering wheels, roof or seats of the car to bring an expansion to protect the occupant from the force of an accident. The appropriate level of power is based upon sensor inputs that detect occupant size, seat position, seat belt use of the occupant, and crash severity. Airbags cannot be added to a car like some other equipment. They must be designed in a way to work with the safety systems of a specific model.

Can Airbags be a security issue?

Nowadays, most cars in the US are equipped with airbags to protect the passengers and drivers. Airbags can be useful when they are properly designed and fitted but unfortunately, there are some airbags which are not properly designed and results in serious airbag injuries. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration showed that in several crashes the explosive opening of the bag has caused several damages to the people. When a person is banged by defective airbags, it is known to cause brain haemorrhage, burst hearts, severed brainstems, spinal injury, broken necks, blinding, TMJ syndrome, facial bone fractures, upper extremity injuries and disfigurement. More people have been injured or killed in the collision than injured without deploying the airbags. Almost 60% of the people injured in those cases were kids and people of short height.

How to protect yourself against Airbag injuries?

To protect drivers and passengers from getting injured when an airbag is deployed, seats should be as far away from the airbag as possible. They should also sit back in their seat, keeping at least 10 inches between the breastbone and the airbag module. It is not advisable to allow a child to sit in the front seat of a car. In order to offer drivers and passengers the safest driving experience, Airbags that have never been deployed from an accident should actually be replaced as a car begins to age.

If you have suffered injury by improper airbag deployment consult with an experienced personal injury attorney.