The Impact of Airbag Deployment Injuries on Your Life

Jul 31, 2024Deployment Injuries

Airbag deployment injuries can impact your life in many ways. If you have been injured by a defective airbag, understanding the impacts of your injuries will be important for managing your physical and psychological wellbeing long-term.

It will be important for managing your finances as well. Airbag deployment injuries can prove incredibly expensive. Whether you need surgery to get better or a full recovery isn’t in the cards, it will be critical to ensure that you have the financial resources you need to cover your medical bills and other costs in the years to come.

Understanding the Impacts of Airbag Deployment Injuries

With all of this in mind, what can you expect going forward if you have suffered injuries related to a faulty airbag deployment? Here are just some of the ways that your injuries could impact your life:

Unanticipated Medical Bills and Other Injury-Related Costs

No one expects to suffer serious injuries in a vehicle collision—much less due to a defective airbag. Even if you have health insurance, your copays and other out-of-pocket costs could easily climb into the thousands of dollars, if not much higher.

Airbag deployment injuries can also lead to other out-of-pocket costs, including medical bills. Prescription medications, medical supplies, wheelchairs and other assistive devices, and other items necessary for recovery can all add to the direct financial costs of your injuries.

Financial Strain Due to Loss of Income and Benefits

Airbag deployment injuries can indirectly lead to other financial costs as well. If you need time off from work, for example, you’ll need to use your paid time off (PTO)—if you have any. If you don’t have PTO, or if you use it all up, you may need to take unpaid time off to allow yourself to heal as fully and quickly as possible.

Sometimes, injuries from defective airbag deployments can lead to long-term or permanent disabilities. If you will be out of work for months, years or the rest of your life, recovering just compensation could be essential to replace your loss of income and benefits.

Physical Pain, Limitations and Disabilities

Beyond loss of income and benefits, physical limitations or disabilities can impact your life in many other ways as well. The same is true if you are forced to live with pain every day as a result of your injuries. When you have an airbag injury claim, not only are you entitled to just compensation for the financial effects of your injuries (i.e., medical expenses and lost earnings), but you are also entitled to additional compensation for their non-financial impacts on your life. If you are likely to suffer from chronic pain or a long-term (or permanent) disability, these are important factors that will influence the value of your claim.

Emotional Suffering and Psychological Trauma

The physical effects of airbag deployment injuries can also lead to emotional suffering and psychological trauma—and these are also impacts for which just compensation is available. Understandably, many people find it difficult to accept what has happened and to adjust to the new realities of their altered daily life. While treatment is available (and the costs of this treatment can also be included in your airbag injury claim), coping with the effects of a life-altering accident can be a challenging and long-term process.

Permanent Scarring and Disfigurement

Facial injuries from shrapnel and metal fragments and other types of airbag deployment injuries can cause permanent scarring and disfigurement in some cases. Having your appearance permanently altered as the result of a vehicle collision can be psychologically challenging as well. This is another type of non-financial loss for which financial compensation may be available if your injuries are due to an airbag defect.

Loss of Consortium, Companionship and Society

From physical pain to permanent scarring, the effects of airbag-related trauma can impact all aspects of your life. This includes your relationship with your spouse or partner, with your children, and with your friends and other family members.

In airbag defect lawsuits, these impacts are referred to as loss of consortium, loss of companionship and loss of society. They are also impacts for which financial compensation is available. When you hire an experienced airbag defect lawyer to represent you, your lawyer will work closely with you to clearly identify all of your injuries’ effects and help you seek the maximum compensation available based on your unique personal circumstances.

Loss of Enjoyment of Life

The physical and psychological effects of airbag deployment injuries can also lead to loss of enjoyment of life. If you are physically unable to enjoy your hobbies or pursue your career, if you find it difficult to get out of bed in the morning, or if you experience other effects that fundamentally alter your daily life, these are additional non-financial losses that an experienced airbag defect lawyer will be able to help you seek to recover.

Managing the Physical, Psychological and Financial Impacts of Injuries from Airbag Deployment

Regardless of the severity of your airbag deployment injuries, regardless of their financial costs and regardless of how they impact your life, managing their effects will take a financial and emotional toll. To make sure the consequences of your injuries are no greater than necessary, you should talk to a lawyer about filing a claim as soon as possible. It costs nothing to learn about your legal rights, and if you are entitled to just compensation (and if your injuries are the result of an airbag deployment failure, there is a good chance that you are), you won’t have to pay anything out of pocket for your legal representation.

Contact Us for a Free Consultation About Your Legal Rights

If you would like to know more about filing a claim for your airbag deployment injuries, we encourage you to contact us right away. To discuss your legal rights with an experienced lawyer in confidence as soon as possible, call 866-247-2247 or tell us how we can reach you online now.