Airbags save lives. In fact, experts estimate that air bags saved around 20,000 American lives in the twenty years after the introduction of a law that forced manufacturers to install driver's side air bags. Nonetheless, if your car collides with another vehicle and your air bag does not deploy, you may believe that you could have avoided your injuries if the safety device had done its job. Learn more about the considerations you may need to make before you file a defective product liability lawsuit in this situation, and find out if you might stand a good chance of winning.

Examples of faulty air bags

Of course, air bag injuries can still occur when the device deploys normally. Research shows that head, neck, torso and limb injuries can all occur when an air bag deploys as it should. Nonetheless, if the device is faulty you may expect to suffer a more serious injury. Air bag faults generally fall into one of three categories. These include:

• The air bag fails to deploy through a manufacturing or installation fault.
• The air bag deploys in a low-impact crash, causing an unnecessary injury.
• The manufacturer fails to install an air bag. The device is missing entirely.

In any of these cases, you may want to file a defective product liability lawsuit if you suffer an injury.

How defective product liability works

To win a defective product liability case, you must normally prove four things. You must show that:

• You suffered an injury and/or financial losses
• The product was defective in some way
• You used the product as the manufacturer intended it
• The defective product caused your injury

With the three faulty air bag scenarios highlighted above, you would still need to prove these four facts. While this may not seem an insurmountable task, defective product liability cases for air bags are sometimes complex and difficult to win.

Winning a defective product liability case due to a faulty airbag

According to the circumstances of your accident, one of these four key facts may become difficult or even impossible to prove.

First, it's not normally difficult to prove you suffered an injury or financial loss. A medical report or a repair bill should serve that purpose.

You may also find it easy to prove that the product was defective in some way. If the airbag was missing, failed to deploy or deployed at the wrong time, you shouldn't find it too hard to find evidence of the defect. What's more, you shouldn't need to work too hard to show that you used the product as intended, either. If you drove the car on a road and there was some sort of collision, most courts will agree that you should have reasonably expected the air bag to deploy.

However, the challenge comes when you want to prove that the faulty air bag caused your injury. With this evidence, it's often extremely tricky to gather enough evidence to satisfy a judge that the product defect caused your injury.

Proving a faulty air bag caused your injury – the challenges

If you suffer a broken arm as a result of your collision, the defendant's attorney will argue that you cannot prove the injury occurred because the air bag went off. After all, research shows that people suffer broken arms when air bags deploy normally, so how would you prove your injury would not otherwise have occurred?

Realistically, your case might rely on scientific evidence. You would need expert testimony from a skilled engineer to show why the air bags did not deploy properly during the collision. Similarly, you would also need expert medical evidence that the injury would have been less severe (or would not have occurred at all) if the air bag had deployed normally.

This type of evidence is expensive and difficult to get. What's more, it is generally open to interpretation. You may find it hard to offer absolute proof of your claim, so a skilled attorney is essential. He or she can help you gather and present the right evidence and maximize your chances of victory.

Faulty air bags may lead to serious injuries or even deaths that should not otherwise have occurred. Talk to an experienced auto collision attorney for more advice and information about your legal options if you suffer an injury due to a faulty air bag.

For more information, contact a company like the Law Offices of Burton J. Hass.