Airbag Attorney Representing Families After Fatal Collisions and Explosions

An airbag is about half the size of a shoe box. When it deploys properly, an airbag provides cushioning that protects drivers and passengers during a collision. But, when a defective airbag violently explodes, it can cause serious injuries, and these injuries can tragically prove fatal in some cases. For family members who are coping with a loved one’s death, hiring an experienced airbag attorney is a key first step in the recovery process.

We have decades of experience representing accident victims and their families. Airbag injury lawyer, David P. Willis is a Board Certified Personal Injury Trial Lawyer since 1988 and has been representing injured clients against product makers and the automobile manufacturers for 40+ years. If you have lost a loved one due to fatal airbag-related injuries, we can help guide you forward while fighting to recover just compensation on your family’s behalf.

How (and Why) Airbag Deaths Happen

Airbags are designed to save lives—and they do in many cases. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), airbags have helped save more than 50,000 lives over the past 30 years.

But, airbags can also cause fatal injuries. The risk of fatal injuries is especially high when an airbag explodes with excessive force. According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), airbag explosions have been responsible for at least 23 deaths since the start of the Takata airbag recall in 2015.

How (and why) do airbag deaths happen? Defects in airbags manufactured by companies including Takata and ARC can cause these airbags to explode—with or without a triggering collision. When airbags explode, they do so with extreme force. The force of impact can cause life-threatening chest injuries and traumatic brain injuries (TBI), and airbag explosions can also send life-threatening shrapnel flying throughout the cabin.

The defects that cause airbag explosions affect airbags’ inflation mechanisms. Moisture can not only trigger these inflation mechanisms without warning, but it can also cause severe explosions rather than causing airbags to deploy as they are supposed to. These are extreme risks; and, while tens of millions of defective airbags have been recalled and repaired, millions of people are still driving around with dangerous airbags in their vehicles.

Financial Compensation Available in Cases Involving Airbag Deaths

When you lose a loved one unexpectedly, nothing can truly compensate for the emotional trauma and harm you are forced to endure. But, financial compensation is the best our legal system has to offer, and holding the at-fault party accountable is an important step in the recovery process. When you hire an airbag attorney at our firm to represent you, your attorney will fight to recover maximum compensation on your family’s behalf.

How much can your family recover? The answer to this question depends on your family’s unique circumstances—and we will need to learn about your case before we can provide a reasonable estimate. With that said, the types of financial compensation that are generally available following fatal airbag explosions and other fatal airbag injuries include:

• Medical Expenses – If your loved one was not killed instantly in the crash, your family can recover your loved one’s expenses incurred prior to death.
• Loss of Income and Inheritance – Eligible family members can recover just compensation for the loss of their loved one’s income and their loss of inheritance in the future.
• Funeral, Burial and Cremation Costs – After fatal airbag-related accidents, families can recover all of the costs of their loved ones’ funeral and burial or cremation.
• Emotional Trauma, Pain and Suffering Prior to Death – If your loved one experienced any emotional trauma, pain or suffering prior to death, an airbag attorney can help your family recover the compensation that your loved one could have recovered had he or she survived the accident.
• Family Members’ Emotional Trauma – In some cases, eligible family members can also recover financial compensation for their own emotional trauma.
• Loss of Consortium, Companionship, Services and Support – Losing a loved one too soon can impact your life in unimaginable and immeasurable ways. Along with the losses discussed above, eligible family members can also recover financial compensation for their loss of consortium, companionship, services and support.
• Other Financial and Non-Financial Losses – Eligible family members may be able to recover other financial and non-financial losses as well.

When you choose our firm to represent your family, we will gather the information we need to accurately calculate all of the financial and non-financial losses your family is entitled to recover. We will then fight to recover this compensation on your behalf—negotiating a favorable settlement if possible and taking your family’s case to court if necessary.

Protecting Your Family’s Legal Rights After a Fatal Airbag-Related Accident or Explosion

Even if your family is clearly entitled to financial compensation for your loved one’s death, you must still take appropriate action to protect your family’s legal rights. To help ensure that your family’s airbag attorney is able to seek the maximum compensation available, you should:

1. Preservation of the Evidence

In a defective airbag case it is crucial that the vehicle itself with the defective airbag be preserved as evidence. Airbag experts and engineers are going to need thoroughly inspect the vehicle, document the airbag explosion and download the vehicle’s computer. A product liability lawsuit, requires a product as the evidence. If the car has been taken by the insurance company or salvaged, it still may not be too late to find the retrieve the the evidence for later testing.

2. Keep Any Documentation You Receive

It is a good idea to start keeping track of your family’s costs related to your loved one’s untimely passing. With this in mind, you should keep any invoices, bills or receipts that you receive. If you receive any other documents related to your loved one’s accident or medical care, you should keep these as well. Take pictures of the vehicle, inside and outside to show damage from the wreck and any airbag punctures or cuts inside the vehicle.

3. Write Down Everything You Know About the Accident

While it can be difficult, it is important to write down everything you know about the accident. The details can start to get fuzzy, and you will want to make sure you can share as much information with your family’s attorney as possible.

4. Speak with an Airbag Attorney Promptly

Finally, you should speak with an airbag attorney promptly. Holding the at-fault party responsible will involve taking legal action, and you will need an experienced attorney to take legal action on your family’s behalf. Hiring an airbag attorney costs nothing out of pocket, and your family won’t pay anything unless your attorney helps you recover financial compensation.

Speak with an Experienced Airbag Attorney in Confidence

If you need to know more about filing a claim for an airbag-related death, we invite you to get in touch. Please give us a call or contact us online to schedule a free, no-obligation consultation.