When a car accident occurs, you trust the safety features will protect you from sustaining severe injuries. After all, the safety features are designed to protect you from the extreme forces of a collision. However, these features cannot protect you from all injuries; they only reduce the severity of the sustained injuries. But what happens if your airbag fails to deploy during the accident?

In many cases, the airbag fails to deploy because of manufacturing defects. When your car airbag fails to deploy during an accident, you can file a lawsuit to recover your damages and injuries. However, the processes are complex, and you can find it challenging to navigate alone. You want to work closely with a well-experienced and trained attorney. 

Understand Your Rights After Your Airbag Fails to Deploy

You first want to know your rights when the airbag fails to deploy in an accident. Speak with a product liability attorney immediately after the accident. Because of the defective airbag, you may suffer severe injuries, including head injuries, bone fractures, lacerations, internal injuries, and chest injuries. You can file a lawsuit against the distributor or airbag manufacturer.

The law allows you to join other consumers who have faced similar problems with the airbags in filing a lawsuit. Speaking with your attorney immediately after the accident can help you learn more about your rights. Also, the attorney will help you seek compensation for the injuries and damages you face as a result of the defective airbag. If you do not know where to start after the accident, you may also ask the attorney.

File a Product Liability Lawsuit/ Claim

When your airbag fails to deploy during an accident, and you suffer severe injuries in the accident, you want to file a lawsuit immediately. The lawsuit will help you recover for the injuries and damages suffered. Therefore, if you believe you suffered severe injuries because your car's airbag failed to deploy, it is your right to file a lawsuit against the at-fault party.

When filing the lawsuit, you want to start by identifying the defendant. The defendant is the person responsible for your injuries. The potential defendants in your claim include the airbag manufacturer and the distributor. However, identifying the at-fault party might be a complicated process. It would be best if you hire closely with your attorney.

Proving Liability When the Airbag Fails to Deploy

When filing a lawsuit against the airbag manufacturers or distributors, you want to prove liability in the case. Remember bringing a case against the manufacturer will fall under product liability laws. The process is complex, and you should work with a well-trained and experienced attorney. The law requires the attorney to prove the following elements in your lawsuit:

Strict Liability

The product manufacturer is held under strict liability. The law requires the court to hold the manufacturers responsible for the damages if the airbag is defective. Even when the manufacturer is unaware, you can still hold them responsible for the injuries suffered. However, when filing the lawsuit, your attorney must establish the following main elements:

  • The product was defective, and you used the product as required. Your attorney should prove the defects in the airbag prevented the product from deploying during the accident. Your attorney can hire experts to help determine whether the airbag was defective.
  • The airbag should have deployed but failed. An airbag is made to deploy during an accident. Experts and testimonies about the nature of the accident can help determine whether the airbag should have been deployed during the crash.
  • You sustained severe injuries because of the airbag. Documenting medical records can help you prove the alleged airbag caused injuries or the defective airbag worsened your injuries.
  • You did not modify the airbag. Your attorney must provide evidence to show you did not modify the airbag in a way that could render them defective.

Demonstrating Negligence

Sometimes, the airbag may fail to deploy because it was tampered with or damaged during the repair. For instance, your mechanic damaged the airbag during replacement. Your lawyer needs to demonstrate negligence when this is your case since the airbag was not defective. To demonstrate negligence, your lawyer must prove the mechanic owed a duty of care but failed in the duty. The defendant's breach of duty must be linked with the damages and injuries suffered.

What to Include in Your Lawsuit

When filing your lawsuit, you want to include the damages you would like to recover. The following are the common damages you can include in your lawsuit:

  • Medical Expenses and Bodily Injuries

Medical costs and bodily injuries are essential components of economic damages in an accident. When your case proceeds to the court and the judge rules in your favor, you will recover both economic and non-economic damages resulting from your injuries: the damages include:

  • Treatment Costs

If you suffer severe injuries when your airbag fails to deploy in an accident. In that case, you will face many medical expenses, including ambulance emergency services, doctor appointments, diagnostic imaging, prescription medication, surgeries, and lab testing costs, among other medical costs. You want to keep receipts and documents proving your medical expenses. The receipts and documents will help you when seeking compensation in the future.

  • Future Medical Costs

Sometimes when the accident is severe, you may face a permanent disability that requires extensive care. For example, when you suffer severe spinal cord injuries, you might require someone to be close to you for your entire life. Also, you are going to need medications to support your condition.

  • Lost wages and Earning Capacity

When the injuries you suffer are severe, you are more likely to miss your work as you recover. The law allows you to receive compensation for the lost wages. Alternatively, you want to include lost earning capacity in your lawsuit. As a result of the injuries, you might find it difficult to seek a job in the future. That’s why you should include these damages in your lawsuit.

  • Rehabilitation Costs

These costs include physical therapy and mental health services, among other treatments which help you cope with the disabilities and injuries. Speak with your attorney to ensure you do not omit any damages in your lawsuit.

  • Wrongful Death

Your loved one or family member may die due to injuries caused by the airbag failure to deploy. When this is your case, you want to file a lawsuit to recoup the burial, funeral, and suffering caused by the death of your loved one. You want to seek legal help from your attorney.

Obtain a Police Report

The police will arrive at the accident scene if the accident leads to severe injuries. Upon arriving at the accident scene, they will write a report about the accident. If the officer preparing the report gives you a report retrieval number or receipt, use that reference number to reach the officer and ask them to issue you a copy.

When you do not have a report number or receipt, but you know the police agency who came to the accident scene(state police, highway patrol, or county sheriff), you can contact the department and ask them how to obtain a copy of the report. The report will be essential as you can prove some aspects of the accident.

Document Evidence

The moments after a car accident can be stressful and scary. The evidence you gather after the accident can bring a big difference in how you will receive compensation. Taking photos of the accident scene is essential. Snap as many photos as possible. However, ensure the time and date in your camera are accurate. Using a smartphone to take pictures will automatically store your images.

If there are witnesses around, you can collect their information. However, approach them the right way. Although it is not hard to contact the witnesses, be careful about handling them. You may document the witness statements in several ways, including:

  • Let the witnesses write their statements about what they saw and provide dates and signs on each page.
  • You may write out what the witnesses saw and let them sign.
  • You may request the witnesses whether it will be okay to record their statements on your phone.

Take Photos of Your Injuries

Once you are safe, you want to take photos of your injuries. If you do not take the photos at the accident scene, you want to take them immediately before filing a lawsuit. Remember, several injuries may develop over days or weeks. Take photos of any new physical condition you discover, like bruises. Although you can spot bruises easily, there are certain subtle symptoms you cannot photograph, like feeling tired, trouble sleeping, and altered smell and taste. They may be signs of a severe condition like brain injuries.

Keep a Journal to Remember the Essential Details

Memories fade. The more time passes after the accident, the harder you will be able to recall what you saw and how the accident happened. That’s why you want to keep a journal. A car accident journal only involves what you saw during and after the accident. For example, if you suffer severe injuries and the airbag didn't deploy, record this information. Ensure the details are accurate and not exaggerated. The journal can help in the future in boosting your lawsuit. It doesn’t matter where you write the journal. You may write in a book, on your computer, or phone. In your journal, you may include the following details:

  • Facts like location, time, and date of the accident.
  • Road and weather conditions.
  • Your version of how the accident happened.
  • Personal injuries and property damages.
  • Insurance information, contact information, and names.
  • Any details you remember, no matter how small they sound.

Keep Accident-Related Medical Bills, Expense Receipts, and Records

During your compensation, the airbag manufacturers would want to know the expenses you incurred due to the accident. That’s why you want to have the medical bill records, among other medical expenses. You may file an insurance claim for any accident-caused expenses discussed above. What you cover in your claim will depend on the type of coverage and the fault party. If you are unaware of the records to keep, you want to talk with your doctor. Save all the paperwork related to the accident.

Speak With Your Attorney

Product liability cases are difficult to handle as they require legal experts with deep experience and knowledge of the law. As the attorney helps you file a lawsuit, they will have to participate in other activities. For example, the attorney will need to examine the nature of the accident. The following are the key duties your attorney will perform:

  • Organize your medical bills and records.
  • Communicate with the involved parties' insurer.
  • Work closely with your doctor to provide the medical records you require when filing a lawsuit.
  • Present evidence to help prove liability.
  • Gather the necessary evidence.

Seek Medical Help If Necessary

After a car accident, your health becomes your priority. Obtaining medical help after the accident is essential. After the accident, emergency services will appear at the accident scene and take you to the closest medical facility where you obtain the medical care you require. What seems to be minor injuries may turn to severe injuries when the symptoms appear. You might not even know where you sustained injuries immediately after the accident. Do not assume your injuries are minor. Obtain medical care whenever you feel any symptoms after the accident like dizziness, numbness, or dizziness.

Contact a Las Vegas Car Accident Attorney Near Me

If your airbag fails to deploy during a car accident and you face huge medical bills linked to the defective airbag, you are entitled to compensation. Start by understanding your right after the accident. Next, talk with your well-skilled attorney and tell them everything that happened in the accident. 

At Las Vegas Personal Injury Attorney Law Firm, our attorneys have helped many victims of defective airbags receive millions in compensation. We start by examining the nature of the accident and collecting the necessary evidence to help support your claim. Call us if you suffer injuries linked to defective airbags in Las Vegas, NV. We will aggressively pursue your compensation. Call us today at 702-996-1224 for a free consultation.