Airbags Can Be a Source of Injury In a Crash
Airbags are an important safety feature in modern cars–one which can spell the difference between surviving or failing to survive a serious auto accident. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 37,000 lives were saved by frontal airbags between 1987 and 2012. However, airbags can themselves pose a risk of injury. Below, read about the sorts of injuries which airbags can cause, and ways that you can protect yourself from injury.
What sorts of injuries can an airbag cause?
Airbags deploy with an explosive force. A heated gas quickly expands to fill an airbag when the car experiences an impact of sufficient force to trigger deployment. This rapid inflation can result in broken noses, ribs, arms, hands, and fingers, especially for drivers or front-seat passengers sitting close to the airbag. Also, the hot gas used to inflate the airbags can result in serious burns to faces, necks, or chests, and these burns can be even more severe where an airbag is damaged or bursts upon deployment. Children and infants are especially vulnerable to injury, as their heads are lower and closer to the trajectory of a deploying airbag. Of the 290 airbag-related fatalities occurring between 1990 and 2008, 90% were children or infants in the front passenger seat.
How can I protect against airbag injuries?
One way to prevent airbag injuries is to make sure that your seat is at a safe distance from the steering wheel. Safety experts recommend that drivers are at least 10 inches from the center of the steering wheel while driving. For the elderly or those of small stature, this may require the use of pedal extenders. Pregnant women must also be cautious of sitting too close to the wheel while in later trimesters, and may want to avoid driving as much as possible. Children under 12 and infants in rear-facing seats are both at risk of serious injury if sitting in a car’s front seat when an airbag deploys, and should always sit in the rear seat. Finally, proper seatbelt use can go a long way in preventing airbag injury; 80% of those fatally injured by an airbag weren’t wearing a seatbelt when the airbag deployed.
While a crash may not have resulted in serious damage to your car, injuries caused when your airbag deployed may still leave you with medical bills and pain and suffering that a knowledgeable personal injury attorney could help you recover.
If you’ve been hurt in a car accident in New Jersey, contact the knowledgeable and experienced Wayne personal injury attorneys at Massood Law Group for a free consultation on your possible car crash lawsuit, at 1-844-4MB-HURT.
