PRODUCTS LIABILITYS- AIRBAGS
 Airbags have been highly effective in reducing fatalities from frontal crashes. Between 1986 and March 1, 2001, airbags have saved an estimated 5,303 front seat occupants, 4,496 drivers (85%), and 807 right-front passengers (15%). Of the 5,303 people, 72% were unbelted and 28% were belted. However, while airbags have saved an increasing number of people in moderate to high speed crashes, they have also been causing fatalities and injuries in relatively low speed crashes. As of April 1, 2000, the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration's Special Crash Investigation (SCI) has confirmed a total of 158 fatalities induced by airbag deployment. Of that total, 92 were children, 60 were drivers, and 6 were adult passengers. Lee Brown became the first attorney in the country to successfully sue an auto manufacturer for serious injury due to airbag defects. Brown represented Monica Jeretina, a hospital surgical nurse, whose 1995 Nissan Maxima struck a small post. The car's airbag deployed late and violently struck Jeretina in the face. It broke Jeretina's neck and left her a quadriplegic. Through research, Brown discovered that frontal airbags were causing 40% more injuries in low speed crashes than would have happened if the car had no airbags at all. The video to the below was obtained as part of discovery. Shot by Nissan engineers during a safety test of the 1995 Altima, Brown says, "The Altima's airbag inflicted injury like no other bag introduced in the United States. Nissan didn't take the time to adequately test it before putting it on the market." More than fifty people were blinded because the inflating bag struck them so hard in eyes that it caused optical nerve or retinal damage. Concerned government investigators used data and expert testimony from Brown's litigation to force a recall of Altima airbags in April, 2003.  Brown's expertise in developing the airbag cases led other attorneys to follow his strategy. Hit with a wave of products liability lawsuits, the industry responded in the following ways. First, warnings were issued to parents to ensure that their children were always put in the back seat. Second, NHTSA pushed the use of advanced airbag technology, which resulted in depowering of airbags in the 1998 model year. So-called "Second Generation" of airbags has reduced the frequency of fatalities, but inflation-induced injuries continue to occur. The injuries are principally caused by the following defects. A. Airbag Thresholds Airbag injuries are frequently caused because the airbag should not have deployed in the crash. Airbag systems are controlled principally by design thresholds which dictate when and under what circumstances the bags are to deploy. Frontal airbags are designed to only deploy in frontal crashes, not side impacts, rear impacts, or rollovers. First Generation frontal airbags were designed to never deploy at speeds generally below six-and-a-half mph, the so-called no-fire threshold, and always deploy at speeds generally above 13 mph, the so-called must-fire threshold. The gray zone, the difference between the no-fire and must-fire threshold, was built into the system to allow variability. As a result of the airbag thresholds and variability of the manufacturing and quality control, airbags frequently deployed in crashes when they should not have.  B. Late DeploymentThe airbags frequently cause injuries because they deploy late. Manufacturers have known for at least 25 years that the airbag must be fully inflated before there is an interaction with the occupant. However, because of sensor designs, location of sensors, and the wiring systems utilized by manufacturers, airbags frequently do not deploy in a timely manner. As a result, the airbag partially inflates into the occupant, causing inflation-induced injuries. Late deployments can be proven by downloading the black box to airbags. The black box is a computer database on each car, called the Sensing Diagnostic Control Module. It records information concerning the accident. In particular, it will show when the airbag decided to fire and at what time the bag fired. A print-out of this data can reliably show that the airbag was not fully inflated when it interacted with the occupant. C. Aggressive Airbags Airbag systems have been causing inflation-induced injuries because they are overly aggressive. As noted above, First Generation airbags were deploying with great velocity because they were principally intended to minimize serious injuries and deaths in high-speed collisions. As a result, the bags were designed to deploy with the force needed to minimize injuries in the high-speed accidents. But since the bags were deploying in relatively minor crashes, the force of inflating the bag was causing injuries that would not have otherwise occurred. As a result, single-stage inflators were replaced with dual and/or two-stage inflators, or depowered inflators, which typically deployed with less force. The Second and Third Generation airbags, utilize these designs, and have greatly minimized the risk of serious injury or death in low-speed accidents.  D. Non-Deployments Airbags sometimes can cause injuries by failing to deploy. Failure-to-deploy cases are becoming more common because the manufacturers have attempted to cut costs associated with their airbag systems. As a result, the quality and quantity of sensors have been reduced. As a result, airbags are not deploying in crashes like they should, and preventable injuries are occurring on a more frequent basis. E. Failure to Equip Cases Airbag injuries are being caused from the failure to equip airbags in vehicles. A tremendous amount of press has recently been focused on side impacts involving light trucks and passenger cars. In these accidents, the near-sided occupant is exposed to injury from the striking high bumper vehicles. The manufacturers have known for at least a decade that these injuries could be minimized or prevented with the use of side airbags. In particular, the use of torso, head, and curtain type airbags would minimize or prevent many of the side impact injuries. In addition, manufacturers, such as Volvo and Mercedes, have incorporated rollover type airbags to minimize head and neck injuries in rollover collisions. For more information: Contact Us |