Airbag Defect Attorneys in Austin, TX

Austin Airbag Defect Attorneys

Airbags, which are commonly known as supplemental restraint systems, are designed to work in conjunction with safety belts to protect passengers in your vehicle. When seat belts and airbags are used together, it decreases the risk of fatality by 61 percent. According to the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration (NHTSA), frontal airbags saved 44,869 lives between 1987 and 2015.

When you look at these statistics, it’s easy to see why people have come to rely on airbags for their safety. In fact, they work so well that driver and passenger front airbags have been mandatory on all vehicles since 1998. That means the majority of the cars on the road today have airbags designed for your safety. What happens if your airbags fail to work properly, though?

When airbags don’t work the people involved are more likely to be injured severely. When airbags fail, the chances of fatality also increase. If this happens to you or one of your loved ones, it’s important that you contact an Austin airbag defect attorney as soon as possible — but not just any attorney. You need an airbag defect lawyer who isn’t afraid to take on big companies like automobile manufacturers, and who will not be intimidated by the technological aspects of the case.

You need aggressive personal injury attorneys, who are smart, and technologically savvy on your side . At The Buche Law Firm, PC we can help you. Contact airbag defect attorneys today.

Austin Personal Injury Lawyers You Can Trust

If you’ve been injured in an automobile accident, you might have the right to file a personal injury claim. This includes injuries stemming from a problem with your car’s airbag. Unfortunately, many car accident victims are offered settlement amounts that are lower than expected — at times so low that it barely covers medical expenses.

That’s why it’s important to contact a personal injury attorney any time you’re injured in a car accident. When you work with a personal injury lawyer you can trust, you’re more likely to get a settlement that actually covers your expenses. At The Buche Law Firm, PC, our attorneys are licensed in Texas. We are also able to practice law in federal district and appellate courts. This means we can work with you throughout your entire personal injury case, negotiating with the insurance companies and if needed, going up against the automobile manufacturer to ensure you’re properly compensated for injuries resulting from airbag failure. Contact airbag defect attorneys today.

What Type of Airbags Does Your Car Have?

Before contacting an Austin airbag defect attorney, it’s a good idea to know what type of airbags your car actually has. If your vehicle was made in 1998 or earlier, your car is required to have driver’s side and passenger side front airbags. However, there are several other types of airbags available on cars and trucks today, and all of them have the potential to be faulty.

Front airbags: These are the airbags that deploy from the front of your car during a head-on collision. There is one to protect the driver and one to protect the front-seat passenger. The driver’s side airbag deploys from the steering wheel, while the passenger-side airbag deploys from the dashboard. Some cars also have occupancy sensors in the passenger seat so that the airbag deployment feature remains off if the front passenger doesn’t weigh at least 100 pounds. This feature helps prevent airbag-related injury in children who may be riding in the front passenger seat.

Side and Roof Airbags: Newer vehicle may also have side and/or roof airbags. These deploy to protect all passengers in the car. They are designed to help prevent torso, pelvis, head, and chest injuries in collisions involving side impact or rear-end collisions. They also help protect a vehicle’s passengers in the event the vehicle rolls over during an accident.

Knee Airbags: Your knees are a very sensitive part of your body. In fact, it’s common for your knee caps to shatter on impact, which is why knee airbags are extremely important. They sit in the car’s dashboard to prevent the front seat passengers’ knees from hitting the hard interior surface in front of them.

If you believe your car’s airbags failed to protect you properly, you should seek help from an airbag defect attorney as soon as possible. Contact airbag defect attorneys today.

How Do Airbags Work?

If you aren’t sure how airbags work, you may not even realize that yours didn’t work properly during an accident. For example, you might know that your airbags are supposed to deploy quickly when you’re involved in a car accident, but did you know that they are also supposed to deflate quickly too?

All of your car’s airbags are attached to sensors. The sensors send signals to the electronic control unit sitting in the middle of your car. When a collision happens, the sensor registers the impact and sends a signal to the electronic control unit telling it to deploy the airbags. All of this happens very quickly, and if everything is working properly, your airbags deploy preventing you and your vehicle’s passengers from more serious injury.

After your airbags deploy, they deflate almost immediately. This happens so that you and your vehicle’s passengers can move again, and to avoid injuries. If the airbags don’t deflate properly after they deploy, it could cause additional forceful injuries, which presents a completely different set of risks. So you should expect your airbags to deflate as quickly as they deploy.

If you were involved in a car accident and your airbags didn’t work properly causing injury to you or one of your passengers, you need a reliable Austin airbag defect attorney on your side. Contact airbag defect attorneys today.

When Are Airbags Dangerous and How Can They Cause Injury?

While airbags save a lot of lives each year, they can also cause serious injury or death if they are defective. This is especially true for smaller adults and children who are passengers in a vehicle. When people are injured because of a defective airbag, it isn’t always because their airbag failed to deploy when they got into an accident. There are several ways airbags can be defective including:

Airbag failing to deploy during an accident: If your airbag fails to deploy on impact, it could lead to severe injury. Your airbag is designed to work in conjunction with your seatbelt to keep you from moving forward during an accident and colliding with the windshield and/or steering wheel. If this doesn’t happen, you’re more likely to have a severe injury from the collision.

Unnecessary or unexpected airbag deployment: Sometimes cars have airbags that are overly sensitive. In this case, your airbag could deploy when a minor accident occurs. When this happens, the airbag impairs the driver’s vision, which could cause a fender bender to become a more serious accident.

Under-inflated airbags: When airbags aren’t installed properly, there’s a chance that they won’t inflate completely during a collision. If this happens, you could fly forward, colliding with the vehicle’s interior, which could increase the severity of your injuries.

Oversized airbag installed in your car: If your vehicle has an airbag that’s too big for the vehicle’s interior, the airbag itself could cause a head injury when it’s deployed. When an airbag deploys, it’s powerful. Airbags that are too large and overly powerful, and it’s that added power that causes severe head injuries.

Exploding airbags: If your airbag bursts when it’s deployed, small fragments of metal or shrapnel could be released into the air striking passengers in the vehicle. This could cause wounds and excessive bleeding.

Faulty airbag sensors: If your car has faulty airbag sensors, your airbag may deploy for no reason at all. It could also deploy during a minor accident, making it hard for you to see what you’re doing. Faulty airbag sensors may also cause your airbag not to deploy when you needed, which could increase the severity of your wounds. Airbag sensors can fail by reason of manufacturing defect or by faulty design, including via faulty software or algorithms that control deployment.

Airbags can fail for multiple reasons. That’s why it’s important to have an experienced airbag defect attorney help you with your personal injury claim. Experienced airbag defect lawyers in Austin, like The Buche Law Firm, PC, know what signs to look for to determine whether your car’s airbag caused your injuries and whether you have a solid case. If you do, they aren’t afraid to go up against the large companies on your behalf. So if you’ve been injured in an auto accident and you believe that an airbag defect caused some or all of your injuries, contact airbag defect attorneys today.

What Type of Compensation Can You Get For Airbag-Related Injuries?

Like with other personal injury claims, the amount of compensation you receive for an airbag defect case depends on the exact circumstances of your case. However, if you have a solid personal injury claim, you could receive a settlement for your:

• Medical expenses
• Pain and suffering
• Lost wages
• Permanent physical damage or disability
• Future lost wages stemming from permanent injury or disability
• Psychological damage

When you work with a personal injury attorney to settle your defective airbag case, your chances of receiving a decent settlement increase. Insurance companies aren’t in the business of giving out money. They are in the business of collecting premiums and avoiding payouts on claims. So their claims adjusters typically try their best to settle claims for the least possible amount. Vehicle manufacturing companies are also reluctant to pay out on alleged defective components for fear of setting precedents for other plaintiffs.

It’s not uncommon for insurance companies to use scare tactics to push victims into settling their claim for a lesser amount — and we don’t want that to happen to you. If you have a personal injury claim that’s related to a defective airbag, you need a Austin Airbag Defect lawyer on your side. We offer a free consultation to discuss your case, contact airbag defect attorneys today.

What Type of Injuries Can a Defective Airbag Cause?

It’s possible for injuries caused by defective airbags to be fatal. However, in most cases, faulty airbags cause injuries. The type of injury you experience depends on the problem with your airbag, the severity of the collision, and your overall size. It’s possible for a defective airbag to cause:

• Head, neck, and/or spinal injuries, which could result in permanent damage
• Internal bleeding, which could be deadly
• Bone fractures
• Organ damage, which in some cases is fatal
• Lacerations
• Burns
• Eye injuries, including retinal detachment, lens damage, and orbital fractures

Airbags can be especially harmful to children and small adults because their bodies aren’t large enough to handle the force of the airbag’s impact. That’s why many cars have an occupancy detector in the front passenger seat. When someone weighing less than 100 pounds is sitting there, the airbag is often calibrated set so it does not go off. In this way, avoiding deployment can theoretically lessen chances of injury to the person in the seat during a collision. Contact airbag defect attorneys today.

What Should You Do After a Car Accident Involving a Defective Airbag?

If you were involved in a car accident and you believe your airbag was defective, it’s important you seek medical attention right away, even if you feel okay. Often, injury symptoms aren’t present immediately. Instead, they can develop in a few days’ time, so it’s better for you to know what type of injuries you may be facing as soon as possible.

It’s also important to preserve your vehicle after the accident if you believe a defective airbag caused injury to your or one of your passengers. Your car has a black box that contains data indicating things like whether the airbag deploy signal was given, whether the brakes were used, and whether the seat belt tensioners were engaged. This type of information is extremely important in airbag defect cases because it’s this type of data that proves to the court, the airbag was actually faulty—or the accident was the type that should have caused airbags to deploy. To preserve this information, you should avoid getting your car repaired or junked until after you’ve spoken to an Austin airbag defect attorney about your case. Do not relinquish ownership of the wrecked car, even if it is determined totaled.

If you are physically able, you should get as many photographs of the accident scene, and vehicles as possible. Photos should include the airbags, and all exterior positions of the car, and where it came to rest.

Once you’ve been examined by a medical professional, and are aware of all injuries your accident caused, you should contact an experienced personal injury lawyer to discuss the details of your accident.

During your free consultation, your airbag defect lawyer will ask you questions to try and determine whether or not your airbag was faulty. This may include asking you about your injuries, including the doctor’s exact diagnosis and plan for treatment. All of this information helps your personal injury attorney determine whether you have the right to file a personal injury claim for a defective airbag.

If you have the right to file a claim, and we accept the case, your airbag defect lawyer will assist you through the process. This includes negotiating a settlement amount on your behalf and/or going to trial to prove the defect.

When you’re ready to discuss your case, schedule a free consultation with The Buche Law Firm, PC.

Who Is Liable In An Airbag-Induced Injury Case?

When you’re injured by an airbag, you would file a personal injury claim with the court seeking proper compensation for your injuries. But unlike other car accident claims, the personal injury claim you file isn’t always just against the at-fault driver. Instead, if there is an airbag defect, a product claim may be filed against the airbag manufacturer, or other companies whose parts failed during a collision.

In some cases, other parties may be liable as well. This may include the automobile maker who installed the airbag into your vehicle when it was made. It may also include the automobile retailer.

Because so many different parties may be involved in your case, it’s important to have an experienced airbag defect lawyer by your side. If you’re in the Austin area, The Buche Law Firm, PC can help. Contact airbag defect attorneys today.

Austin Airbag Defect Attorneys

Airbag defect cases are complicated — a lot more complicated than other personal injury claims, and a lot more technologically detailed. Airbag defects are also commonly overlooked in car accident injury cases, even though it’s very possible a defective airbag made the vehicle passenger’s injuries worse.

This is why you need to choose a personal injury attorney that’s part of a firm that can handle complex civil litigation. You need a firm of personal injury lawyers who are familiar with technology and who know how to utilize the right technological expertise to prove your case. At The Buche Law Firm, PC, our firm was built on understanding advanced technologies and dissecting complex cases, which are litigated in civil courts. We are not intimidated by large companies, or complex technologies. Our attorneys and staff have advanced science educational backgrounds, and boast experience not only with civil litigation, but in disciplines with biology, physiology, electrical engineering, chemical engineering, environmental and aeronautical engineering. In short, we are not your average personal injury attorneys. We are highly versed with technology and equipped to understand the physics, the technology, and the biometric analysis that come into play in airbag defect cases.

If you were injured in a car accident and you believe a defective airbag played a part in your injuries or the severity of them, you should consult an Austin airbag defect lawyer as soon as possible. The Buche Law Firm, PC has experienced, trustworthy lawyers on hand, ready to help you. Our firm has experience handling and evaluating airbag defect cases involving both personal injury and death. There is no charge for you consultation and initial case evaluation.

Our Legal Professionals