Were you injured due to a defective airbag issue? You may be entitled to significant compensation for your injuries. These cases can be complex and may require the assistance of a defective airbag attorney. Read on to learn about your rights and options.
Defective airbags may not deploy in the event of an accident or collision. Other defective airbags deploy inadvertently and cause an accident. Other airbag defects reported include delayed airbag deployment and non-deployment, leading to severe injury.
Since the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration (NHTSA) began recording crash statistics, many American motorists and passengers have passed away as a direct cause of defective airbags. However, these are only the reported events. Many additional deaths and disabling injuries have been linked to defective airbags through litigation.
In addition, recently the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration updated its list of vehicles that contain airbags that can kill drivers or passengers when the defective airbags are released. The number of vehicles with immediate risk of these dangerous airbags stands in the tens of millions.
If you or a loved one were injured due to an airbag issue, you may need a qualified lawyer to help you with your case. Contact the Lyon Firm at (513) 381-2333 to schedule a free, no-obligation consultation to discuss your next steps toward recovery.
If an airbag deploys in circumstances when it is not supposed to, it can cause serious injury to the driver or passenger. The sheer force involved in the deployment is enough to cause permanent injuries; if the airbag is defective, even more force may be involved (such as when the airbag is overloaded with pressure).
Injuries resulting from a premature airbag deployment can cause injuries such as:
An experienced lawyer can help determine how an airbag has injured a person and what types of legal remedies are available.
A recent investigation includes a deep dive into the airbag safety of vehicles assembled by Honda Motor, Ford Motor Co,Toyota Motor Corp, General Motors Co, Nissan Motor, Subaru Tesla, Ferrari NV, Nissan Motor, Mazda, Daimler AG, BMW Chrysler, Porsche Cars, Jaguar Land Rover (owned by Tata Motors) and others.
These vehicles have Takata airbags that may shoot metal when airbags are inflated, release with too much force, or not release at all. Four people have already died from this severe issue. Medical professionals initially thought one woman’s death was a stabbing.
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ABOUT THE LYON FIRM
Joseph Lyon has 17 years of experience representing individuals in complex litigation matters. He has represented individuals in every state against many of the largest companies in the world.
The Firm focuses on single-event civil cases and class actions involving corporate neglect & fraud, toxic exposure, product defects & recalls, medical malpractice, and invasion of privacy.
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The Firm offers contingency fees, advancing all costs of the litigation, and accepting the full financial risk, allowing our clients full access to the legal system while reducing the financial stress while they focus on their healthcare and financial needs.
A defective airbag lawsuit may be filed in order to allow the injured parties to recover losses caused by the damage. The damages collected in a lawsuit can depend on several factors, including the severity of the injuries, the degree of negligence involved, and the skill and experience of the attorney handling the case.
Thus, it’s important to work with qualified lawyers who understand the nuances of defective product cases. The damages from a lawsuit may cover costs such as:
In many instances, traditional insurance policies may not cover all the expenses and losses caused by a defective airbag injury. These are exactly the types of cases that require legal action, so the injured party can be fully compensated for the hardships placed upon them by the defective product. At the Lyon Firm, we devote our full resources and efforts to ensuring that our clients are properly reimbursed for the losses they face.
Airbag inflators house a propellant that turns into a gas that fills an airbag when triggered by a collision. If the inflators rupture, as has been reported, metal fragments may strike vehicle occupants like shrapnel, causing serious injuries.
The defect in these airbag inflators creates openings that allow moisture to leak into them, reaching the ammonium nitrate and creating a safety risk.
Airbags unquestionably have saved lives. However, airbags that are not functioning properly can not only provide a false sense of security but can contribute to and even be the primary cause of an injury or death.
Design defects, negligent auto repairs, and manufacturing defects have all been suspected in airbag defect lawsuits. Airbags can be recalled to due any of the following defective parts:
A qualified attorney can help determine the exact nature of the defect, which is crucial when it comes to calculating the damages involved in the defective airbag lawsuit.
Airbag non-deployment happens when an airbag is supposed to release but doesn’t. If an airbag fails to deploy, obviously all further safety bets are off. Manufacturing defects, design defects, and negligent auto repairs have all been suspected in defective airbag lawsuits.
Essentially, if an airbag fails to deploy, then the protections that were intended for the people in the vehicle are no longer there. This can lead to even more devastating injuries than normal, since the airbags are designed to work in tandem with other safety features, like crumple zones and seatbelts.
Generally, an airbag will deploy when a sufficient force hits a threshold and initiates the release of the airbag. But there may be defective sensors in an automobile, and an airbag may not deploy at all, or may deploy only partially or late. In such cases, death, severe injuries like traumatic brain injuries and permanent disabilities are possible, such as:
In cases where a person has lost a life due to a defective airbag issue, it may be appropriate to file a wrongful death lawsuit. This can help the surviving relatives and family members recover losses connected with the person’s death.
Manufacturers can improperly design, test, or install sensors. Failures in software or calibration of the airbag firing threshold can cause an airbag sensor to not detect a collision. Other causes of airbag non-deployment may include:
Thus, various parties might be held liable for an accident caused by airbag non-deployment. This can include automobile manufacturers, mechanics, sellers, distributors, and other parties. Contact a lawyer to determine what your legal rights and next steps are.
At the Lyon Firm, we dedicate our careers to holding large corporations liable for any negligent violations that put our communities at risk. We put the needs of our clients first and provide them with the utmost attention to detail and care that is required for complex injury cases. Contact us at (513) 381-2333 to schedule a consultation where we can discuss the legal remedies you can obtain under injury laws.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has repeatedly warned that tens of millions of cars with Takata airbags face an increased risk of exploding during a collision after prolonged exposure to warm weather and humid conditions.
The NHTSA says, “Long-term exposure to high heat and humidity can cause these airbags to explode when deployed. Such explosions have caused injuries and deaths.”
In the United States there are 50 million defective Takata airbags in 37 million vehicles. Many of them are in states such as Texas, California, and Ohio, where hot, humid summer weather can cause the chemical propellant in defective Takata airbags to explode.
Any vehicle with a defective airbag may be a safety risk, and the NHTSA has warned that more vehicles will soon be recalled, bringing the total number of recalled Takata airbags to between 65 million and 70 million by 2019.
Starting in 2013, six automobile makers were involved in the initial Takata recall. The issue quickly engulfed 19 automakers, and Takata was soon inundated with hundreds of lawsuits. The company failed to act quickly, and more accidents were reported. Takata said it had little idea as to which cars used its defective inflators, or even what the root cause was.
Takata first explained that propellant chemicals were improperly stored during assembly, causing metal airbag inflators to burst open due to excessive pressure inside. Then, the company blamed humid weather which was accompanied with additional recalls.
Takata has now admitted that rust and bad welds on inflators are also at fault. Company documents show that Takata’s Mexico plant allowed a defect rate that was “six to eight times above” acceptable limits. Defective airbags were shipped and sold to millions of customers.
Takata, under fire for years, finally filed for bankruptcy-court protection in the U.S. and Japan, as the company faces billions of dollars in legal liabilities resulting from years of recalls and lawsuits.
Takata’s recalled airbag inflators have been linked to at least 180 injuries and 20 deaths. Automakers such as Ford, Nissan, Toyota, Honda Motor, and Mazda have paid huge settlements to settle personal injury and product liability claims. It is the largest auto recall in United States history.
Delayed deployment occurs when the airbag deploys at a later time than it is supposed to. This has the dual effect of not protecting the person when needed, and then causing further injury after the accident by deploying too late.
In the spring of 2014, 2005-2006 GM Cobalts and 2003-2005 GM Ions were recalled due to an ignition switch issue related to delayed airbag deployments. The NHTSA has received much ridicule over the fact that such vehicles were not recalled much sooner.
The organization attempted to defend itself by arguing that there were more vehicles with consumer injury-crash complaints than these two models. Mercedes-Benz vehicles have been recalled for delayed airbag deployment.
However, a recent analysis has found no statistically significant difference between the crash complaints filed regarding the Cobalt or Ion and any other vehicles. The organization then went on to say that GM did not provide them with sufficient information, when in reality, it appears that the NHTSA simply did not choose to run the required analyses.
Airbags are an integral part of your car’s safety restraining system. If they are defective or fail to deploy in an accident, it can result in serious and sometimes fatal consequences. Contact an experienced defective airbag lawyer for representation at (513) 381-2333. We are on hand to help you pursue the proper legal remedy you are entitled to.
Chrysler issued a recall on Dodge 2003-2004 (NHSTA ID 13V040) due to inadvertent airbag deployment. This is a very serious problem that can lead to severe injury, paraplegia, quadriplegia, and death, especially among children and the elderly.
Another Fiat Chrysler recall from September 2017 indicates that 210,000 Dodge Grand Caravans had an airbag defect — specifically the steering wheel wiring was misplaced and could result in inadvertent airbag deployment.
Honda Motor recalled over 1 million Acura and Honda vehicles in the U.S. with defective air bag inflators that potentially could explode and send sharp metal into the vehicle, endangering drivers and passengers. Honda announced the recall of Takata airbags, which is a part of the largest auto recall in U.S. history, involving 50 million defective airbags, according to the NHTSA.
The NHTSA has said that 15 people in the United States have been killed by faulty Takata airbag inflators, and possible hundreds have allegedly been injured following car collisions when airbags fail to deploy or explode and injure passengers.
Almost 120,000 2019 Honda CRV SUVs were recalled due to faulty wiring affecting the airbag functionality. Some accidents and injuries have already been reported.
The NHTSA has followed Takata’s airbag recalls and investigated the company’s negligence for several years. In one case, Honda found defective air bag inflators made at a Takata facility in Mexico in which the company’s “manufacturing process errors” resulted in excessive moisture in the inflator.
According to Honda, the moisture produced a high amount of pressure, causing it to rupture. The potential airbag explosions sent pieces of metal into the vehicle and injured passengers.
Contact a lawyer if you have questions about whether your particular vehicle model is affected.
Over 288,000 Mercedes-Benz vehicles have been recalled to replace passenger-side front airbag inflators. A chemical in Takata airbags can become unstable over time, leading to non-deployment, delays in airbag deployment, and injuries related to the recalled Mercedes airbags. Defective airbags may rupture and shoot metal fragments into a vehicle, posing severe risks to passengers.
The Mercedes airbag defect in question may result in non-deployment or there may be a delayed deployment, placing passengers and drivers at risk following serious collisions.
Ford recalled around 953,000 vehicles worldwide to replace Takata passenger airbag inflators that may potentially explode and send deadly shrapnel into vehicles. The recall is part of the largest series of airbag recalls in U.S. history.
Takata, the company responsible for manufacturing the faulty airbags, used ammonium nitrate to induce an explosion to inflate airbags. But the chemical can change over time due to existing heat and humidity and may explode with too much force, destroying the metal canister meant to contain the explosion.
At least 23 people have been killed by the inflators, and many others injured worldwide.
Toyota is recalling certain model year 2012-2013 Avalon, Avalon HV, Venza, Camry, and Camry HV vehicles. In the affected vehicles, the drain hose for the air conditioning condenser may become clogged causing water to accumulate at the bottom of the air conditioning condenser unit housing.
The accumulated water may then leak through a seam in the housing onto the airbag control module potentially resulting in a short circuit of the module.
Nearly 6 million General Motors vehicles with faulty Takata airbag inflators were recalled, another step in a massive airbag defect saga for Takata.
Other manufacturers are likely to add to the millions of recalled airbags. Used car dealers are also still selling vehicles with recalled airbags, and injuries have been reported.
GM resisted the recall for years, but the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration insisted and gave GM 30 days to come up with a recall plan.
Airbag defects can create extremely dangerous and sometimes fatal situations for drivers and passengers. The parties that allow such products to enter the market should be held accountable for any injuries they cause to consumers.
At the Lyon Firm, we dedicate our careers to holding large corporations liable for any negligent violations that put our communities at risk. We put the needs of our clients first and provide them with the utmost attention to detail and care that is required for complex injury cases. Contact us at (513) 381-2333 to schedule a consultation where we can discuss the legal remedies you can obtain under injury laws.
The amount of damages recovered may be directly linked to the attorney’s skill in handling your case. Therefore, you should choose an attorney with the appropriate background and experience in litigating such cases. Contact us at (513) 381-2333 to schedule a free consultation to discuss your rights.
Consumers can follow airbag recall news or search for current and past airbag recalls on the Website of the NHTSA, as well as on other car safety advocate outlets. Look on your car windshield for a 17-character Vehicle Identification Number. Your VIN is also located on your car’s registration card.
If your car is listed on a recall notice, contact your dealer and an auto defect attorney.
If your car has been recalled and you have suffered an injury, contact an auto defect attorney to investigate a potential claim
If you have been injured by a defective airbag that failed to deploy or deployed inadvertently and caused injury, you may have a valuable product liability claim. Settlements are likely in the event of an airbag defect leading to consumer injury.
Your Auto Defect Lawyer is dedicated to holding auto companies accountable when they fail to properly test safety features and release defective products that injure the American consumer.
The Lyon Firm has filed numerous product liability and class action lawsuits against large auto companies and car makers for endangering consumers with defective airbags and other faulty auto components.
By holding companies responsible for their negligence and putting American drivers at risk, Joe Lyon and plaintiffs aim to reach a sizable settlement and make the roads safer in the future.
When crucial safety features fail to function as they were intended, serious injuries are likely. If airbags fail to deploy or deploy when they shouldn’t they may be responsible for consumer injuries.
As of December 2020, about 10 million affected airbags remain on America’s roads. Even some replacement airbag inflators have been recalled with the same rupture risks.
People injured by Takata airbags can file claims for compensation through funds that were created to compensate victims. Contact The Lyon Firm to learn more.
Auto manufacturers and car makers can be held liable in airbag defect lawsuits. Many automakers outsource some of their production and may not always be aware of some defects. Honda, for example, purchased all their defective airbags from Takata.
Faulty wiring within the steering wheel is suspected in many airbag deployment injury cases. A short circuit may cause the air bags to become disabled or inadvertently deploy. An inadvertent airbag deployment can increase the risk of injury or the possibility of a crash.
An inoperative airbag can increase the risk of injury in a severe crash. The power steering assist could also become inoperable resulting in increased steering effort and can increase the risk of a crash at low speeds.
Joe Lyon is a highly-rated auto recall attorney and Auto Defect lawyer who has successfully represented plaintiffs throughout the United States in multiple complex product liability cases. These cases are generally filed in Federal Court, though State Court options may be available in certain cases.
If you or a family member have been injured by a recalled airbag device and need a defective airbag lawyer, contact The Lyon Firm today for a no-cost consultation at (513) 381-2333 to learn more about your legal rights.
We work with law firms across the country to provide the most resources possible and to build your case into a valuable settlement.
Invasion of privacy law has been established to protect consumers and citizens of the United States. When companies are negligent and fail to protect consumer information, which can be used in malicious ways, victims can contact a class action attorney to represent them in class action data breach lawsuits. A number of privacy breach and data breach claims have been settled by The Lyon Firm and other consumer protection lawyers around the country.
Consumers have rights in the USA, and when companies do not provide a service they have promised, or hold up their end of a bargain, legal action may be necessary. Consumer protection attorneys work on your behalf to hold companies responsible for providing a fair and safe service.
The Lyon Firm has worked with law firms nationwide in consumer class actions involving deceptive marketing, false advertising, food mislabeling and misleading marketing claims.
TCPA lawsuits have become one of the most common kinds of legal claims. The TCPA Act provides privacy protection for consumers by restricting how companies and organizations can contact you by telephone. Robocall harassment and unfair debt collection has been a serious issue that has required lawsuits in order to keep telemarketing companies at bay.
If you have experienced telephone harassment by a bank, real estate company, hotel, political campaign or anyone else, you may have TCPA claim. The Lyon Firm works diligently to seek compensation for those harassed at their home or work.
Class action wage and hour lawsuits are always ongoing, as some employers fail to treat employees properly, and attempt to cut workers out of earned wages. Wage theft lawsuits can be valuable for a class of plaintiffs who believes their employer has cheated them out of overtime pay and other earned wages.
There have been several wage theft lawsuits and settlements that have compensated employees for the wages they have earned, as well as damages for emotional distress and punitive damages when an employer is negligent in treating workers in accordance to Ohio labor law.
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