Unfortunately, auto accidents are a fact of life: they can and do happen even when we drive carefully and do nothing wrong. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), more than 41,000 people nationwide were killed in car accidents in 2007. Another 2.5 million people in the United States were injured in motor vehicle crashes during this same time period. To improve accident outcomes, manufacturers now install air bags in almost all vehicles. Air bags make us feel safer because we know they are designed to inflate on impact, keeping us from hitting the steering wheel, dashboard or windows. Yet air bags themselves can be dangerous, and even deadly. According to the NHTSA, there have been more than 260 airbag-related deaths since 1990. While this number seems small in comparison to the thousands who are killed each year in traffic accidents, air bags are nonetheless dangerous, additionally causing injuries such as facial fractures; head, neck and spinal cord damage; blindness; ruptured eyes; burns; and severe bruising.

When an air bag deploys, it inflates with a force approaching 2,000 lbs. and a speed of up to 200 mph. It is not surprising, then, that injuries often occur when drivers and passengers are seated less than 10 to 12 inches from the steering wheel or dashboard. The problem is air bags were designed for individuals approximately 5’8” in height and weighing 180 pounds. As a result, air bags pose a substantial hazard to shorter motorists and especially to children. Airbag defects can also lead to serious injury. An airbag may fail to deploy upon impact, deploy with too much force, inflate at the wrong angle, or inflate too slowly. Air bags also sometimes deploy when they should not (for example, in a very low impact situation or when there is no crash at all). Since they were first introduced in 1990, millions of vehicles have been recalled due to airbag defects. As recently as October 2008, Nissan recalled more than 200,000 vehicles after the company discovered a potential air bag sensor problem.

If you or a loved one has been injured in an air bag accident, it is crucial that you contact an experienced attorney immediately. Our dedicated injury lawyers can help you obtain all of the compensation to which you may be entitled. This might include money for pain and suffering, emotional distress, medical bills and lost wages or other financial damages. Only an accident lawyer who has resolved many airbag matters can decide the best strategy for handling your unique case.

At Feldman Shepherd, we are committed to obtaining the best possible recovery for our clients throughout Pennsylvania and New Jersey as expeditiously as possible. We are here to serve you with hard work, attention to detail and a caring approach tailored to your individual needs. If we may be of assistance to you, please do not hesitate to contact us today.