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If Airbags Did Not Deploy in an NYC Car Accident, Is the Car Company Liable?

Posted in Products Liability on December 7, 2021

If Airbags Did Not Deploy in an NYC Car Accident, Is the Car Company Liable?

Airbags can be the last line of defense in a near-fatal accident. If your airbags fail to deploy in a New York City car accident, you may be entitled to financial compensation.

But establishing fault and pursuing compensation for your resulting injuries can be a complicated legal process. Here are a few of the things you need to know about airbag malfunctions and liability.

What Happens When an Airbag Fails to Deploy?

If airbags fail to deploy in a car accident, victims can be thrown against the hard surfaces of the vehicle, including the steering wheel, dashboard, or windows. Resulting dangers can include:

  • Death
  • Paralysis
  • Reduced mobility
  • Brain damage
  • Chronic pain
  • PTSD

Airbags serve as a cushion to protect drivers from these deadly or debilitating consequences. Airbags injuries have wide-ranging and devastating effects.

Who Might Be Liable If My Airbags Don’t Deploy?

The physical, emotional, and financial costs of failed airbag deployment may be grounds to pursue a personal injury case.

Legal responsibility may fall upon a number of different parties, including:

  • The airbag manufacturer
  • The vehicle manufacturer
  • The vehicle distributor

When manufacturers knowingly produce a faulty product or fail to remedy issues in a reasonable time, victims may have a case for product liability.

In New York State, even used car dealerships must ensure that all of the vehicles they sell contain working airbags.

Several different parties may be responsible for failed airbag deployment. A knowledgeable product liability attorney can help you to explore your options to pursue compensation for a faulty airbag.

How Can I Pursue Compensation After My Airbags Fail to Deploy?

If you have been in a car accident in New York City and your airbags failed to deploy, reach out to an experienced car accident attorney. Product liability cases can be difficult to pursue in court. This is because there are several legal requirements to be met before a manufacturer will pay for damages.

Requirements for Liability

There are four main elements that have to be proven in a product liability case. A victim must be able to show that:

  • The airbags should have deployed
  • The airbags failed to deploy as designed
  • The driver suffered injuries
  • Those injuries were directly caused by the failure to deploy

A knowledgeable personal injury attorney can help you to gather the evidence necessary to support your claim.

Expert Witness Testimony

Documentation in a case involving airbags can require testimony from a wide range of expert witnesses, including:

  • Product designers
  • Engineers
  • Accident reconstruction experts

Testimony from these professionals can establish the fact that the airbags should have been deployed given the circumstances.

Fighting for Justice After a Car Accident

Vehicle manufacturers and distributors are profit-driven. It’s not necessarily in their best interests to come forward and admit to flawed designs. They might try to delay or deny your claim, deflecting blame for your injuries. A car accident lawyer can help you overcome these obstacles and pursue a fair settlement for your damages.

If you had to spend time away from work as you recovered from your injuries, a personal injury attorney can help you to calculate your lost income. If you faced extreme scarring or disfigurement from hitting the steering wheel, that should be accounted for in your claim, as well.

The amount of compensation awarded in car accident cases varies widely. A skilled car accident attorney can help you to pursue adequate compensation to cover all of your damages.

Contact Our Car Accident Law Firm in New York, NY

If you need legal assistance, contact the New York City car accident lawyers at Law Offices of Jay S. Knispel Personal Injury Lawyers at your nearest location to schedule a free consultation.

We have two convenient locations in New York:

Law Offices of Jay S. Knispel Personal Injury Lawyers – New York City Office
450 7th Ave #409
New York, NY 10123
(212) 564-2800

Law Offices of Jay S. Knispel Personal Injury Lawyers – Brooklyn Office
26 Court St Suite 2511
Brooklyn, NY 11242
(718) 802-1600

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