Upon impact of a car collision, an airbag is supposed to deploy and cushion your body against your vehicle’s interior to prevent possibly serious injuries. But unfortunately, if it does not function correctly, it may have the opposite effect and cause unwarranted injuries or heightened degrees of injury. If you believe this to be your case, please continue reading to learn who you can sue for your airbag injury and how one of the experienced Bergen County product liability attorneys at McNerney & McAuliffe can help you recover.
How might I get injured by an airbag?
If an airbag is not calibrated correctly with your vehicle’s sensors, it may deploy unnecessarily. This may happen in, say, a minor fender bender where you were minimally jostled upon collision. Under normal circumstances, you might not have incurred so much as a scratch on your body, but after an airbag, you may suffer from serious bodily injuries.
Or, you may have entered a serious, high-speed collision with another vehicle. So while an airbag was necessary to save your life, it may have deployed too forcefully. Again, this may be an issue with your vehicle’s sensors or even internal tether failures. So, instead of walking away with minor bruises and aches, you may now have a fractured rib, fractured collarbone, or serious shoulder injury.
Lastly, there may be mechanical issues with your vehicle’s airbag system to the point that your airbag deploys too late. That is, after your body has slammed aggressively against your vehicle’s interior. With this, you may not be saved from a traumatic brain injury, a serious neck injury, or otherwise.
Who do I have grounds to sue for an airbag injury?
If you believe your airbag did more harm than good in your car accident, you may consider exercising your right to file a lawsuit. At this time, you must carefully consider what went wrong with the airbag to pinpoint the responsible party to sue.
For one, if you think the airbag in and of itself was defective, you may place a product liability claim against the negligent manufacturer of your vehicle or its airbag. Or, if you assume your airbag was installed incorrectly after you replaced it or had it inspected, you may look toward filing a negligence claim against the mechanic, auto repair company, or the professional airbag installation service you used and trusted.
In some cases, it is possible that you must sue multiple parties. That is, you must not forget that another driver was likely involved in your accident. And if it were not for this driver’s reckless maneuvers on the road, your airbag may not have been triggered to deploy in the first place. This may prompt you to initiate a car accident claim, as well.
We understand that you must be eager to start this process. So, without further delay, please schedule your initial consultation with one of the skilled Bergen County personal injury attorneys from McNerney & McAuliffe today.