Air Bag Defect Attorneys of Minnesota

A report from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety finds that side airbags save lives and may ultimately be as vital as seat belts - especially when they offer head protection. Statistics show that every year, 9,000 people in the United States alone die in side-impact car crashes, which is 30% of all vehicle-occupant deaths. Using government data on driver's-side collisions, the report found that drivers whose vehicles had side air bags with head protection were 53% less likely to die than those without them.

Manufacturers have known how to install side-impact airbags for decades, but many either didn't include them at all or only offered them as options. If your client was seriously injured in a side-impact case the vehicle was not equipped with side airbags, they may have a viable crashworthiness claim.

Minnesota Front Air Bag Defect Lawyers

Airbags protect occupants by spreading the loads in a crash and preventing occupants from hitting interior vehicle surfaces. But sometimes, airbags do more harm than good. Although you wouldn't guess it after watching "safety" commercials showing extreme slow-motion airbag deployments, airbag deployments are violent events. In fact, the airbags themselves generally deploy at speeds of 90-220 mph. Given the force involved, problems happen when occupants are in the airbag deployment zone - especially when leaning forward or sideways, the bag deploys too late, the bags deploy in low-speed crashes or the airbag strikes the occupant under the head or neck. These scenarios can cause paralyzing injuries or even death. "Smart" airbag systems are designed to prevent some of the problems created by airbags firing into "out-of-position occupants." But the systems don't always work properly and not all vehicles are equipped with this available technology.

Signs of potential cases include severe spinal cord and head injuries in an occupant whose airbag deployed.

Of course, the failure of an airbag to deploy in high-speed crashes - especially frontal crashes - can also cause catastrophic injuries.

Contact the airbag defect attorneys attorneys at Champion law for a free consultation!

*Nate Bjerke is the Chair of the Minnesota Association for Justice Product Liability Committee