Airbag Injuries to Face Can Have Life-Altering Consequences. We’re Here to Help

Exploding airbags present several risks for both drivers and passengers. One of these risks is the risk of airbag injuries to the face. Facial injuries can cause both disfigurement and impairment, and they can negatively impact virtually all aspects of victims’ lives.

If you or a loved one has suffered facial injuries due to an airbag’s deployment, you may be entitled to significant financial compensation. Airbags are supposed to keep vehicle occupants safe, and they can—and should—be designed and manufactured to avoid unnecessary risks. Unfortunately, many airbags are not safe. Millions of people in the United States are currently driving vehicles with defective airbags, and these defective airbags can explode violently resulting in severe facial injuries.

How Defective Airbags Cause Facial Injuries

Airbags should not present risks for facial injuries when they deploy properly. So, why are so many people suffering airbag injuries to the face?

The simple answer is that many people currently have vehicles with defective airbags. These defects cause airbags to explode violently (and in some cases without a triggering collision) rather than inflating safely to cushion vehicle occupants’ head and upper body. These airbag explosions can be so violent that they can cause the entire airbag module or housing itself to explode at much higher velocities and propel metal pieces similar to shrapnel into drivers’ and passengers’ eyes and faces.

Airbags normally deploy at speeds of up to 200 mph, but some defective airbags explode at much higher velocity and energy. When this happens the airbag module and parts of the dash and steering wheel can violently explode as the airbag deploys causing punctures, lacerations and other serious eye and facial injuries and even death.

Common Facial Injuries Caused By Airbag Explosions

When airbags explode violently and send shrapnel flying into drivers’ and passengers’ faces, drivers and passengers can suffer several types of severe facial injuries.

Shrapnel is small, sharp, and often jagged fragments or pieces of metal, glass, or other materials that are propelled outward during an explosion or impact. These fragments are created an explosion causes the casing or surrounding materials to break apart into smaller pieces.

Common types of facial injuries caused by airbag explosions include:

Severe Lacerations

Shrapnel created by exploding airbags can cause severe lacerations throughout the face. In many cases, these cuts will be deep enough to require stitches or sutures. Shrapnel can also get lodged in drivers’ and passengers’ faces, requiring surgical removal. While severe lacerations caused by airbag explosions can heal with proper treatment, they will often leave victims with permanent scars.

Severe Punctures

Along with severe lacerations, shrapnel created by airbag explosions can also cause puncture injuries. Similar to lacerations, puncture injuries may require stitches or sutures, and in some cases surgical removal of shrapnel may be necessary. We have seen instances where the metal pieces puncture or sever a main artery in the body like the aorta (from the heart), carotid arteries (in the neck), and arteries in the arms, legs, and other places causing potentially fatal bleeding. Puncture wounds can be fatal and also cause permanent scars as —leaving victims with daily reminders of the trauma they have endured.

Eye Injuries

Eye injuries, including ocular and corneal injuries, are also a very real concern for drivers and passengers who fall victim to exploding airbags. Not only can these injuries be disfiguring, but they can also cause visual impairments—and even partial or total blindness—in some cases. While some types of eye injuries can be treated, victims’ visual impairments and blindness will be permanent in some cases.

Jaw Injurie

An airbag deploying at high speeds can cause a broken jaw. The force of  impact from the airbag and metal shrapnel created by airbag explosions can cause jaw fractures, broken teeth and other similar types of injuries can lead to chronic pain, permanent impairments and other serious long-term effects.

Nose Injuries

Nose injuries are common when airbags explode as well. Fractures, bleeding, bruising and septal hematomas are all potential airbag-related injuries that can require prompt treatment and lead to long-term complications. As with the other types of injuries listed above, nose injuries are often disfiguring as well, and surgery may be necessary.

Facial Burns

Airbag explosions can also cause facial burns. While burns can vary in terms of their severity, facial skin is particularly prone to suffering damage—including potentially permanent damage—due to burns. While facial burns can result from airbag explosions, they can also result from friction during proper airbag deployment.

What Are Your Legal Rights After Suffering an Airbag Injury to the Face?

If you have suffered any type of airbag injury to the face, you will want to speak with a lawyer about your legal rights. Drivers and passengers who suffer facial injuries due to airbag deployment may be entitled to significant financial compensation in many cases. This includes compensation for:

• Medical diagnostic and treatment costs (including surgery)
• Medical supplies and prescriptions
• Lost wages due to inability to work
• Permanent scarring and disfigurement
• Pain, suffering and emotional trauma
• Loss of companionship, consortium and society
• Loss of enjoyment of life

An experienced airbag injury lawyer will be able to provide a thorough assessment of your legal rights—including how much you may be entitled to recover. If you have a claim against an airbag or vehicle manufacturer, your lawyer can then assert your legal rights on your behalf. While most successful claims result in out-of-court settlements, it is important to choose a lawyer who is willing to take your claim to court if necessary.

At Willis Law Firm Airbag Injury Lawyers, we do what it takes to win for our clients. Lead 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 or a loved one has suffered facial injuries caused by an airbag explosion or airbag deployment, you can trust us to fight for the maximum compensation you deserve.

Sample Case Result

• Confidential Settlement
• Airbag Facial and Eye Injuries
• Passenger suffered severe facial & eye injuries from a defective airbag in a Honda Civic.

Airbag Injuries to Face? Contact Us for a Free Consultation Today

Have you or a loved one suffered airbag injuries to the face? If so, we strongly encourage you to contact us for more information. To speak with lawyer David P. Willis about your legal rights in confidence, call or send us a message online today. Your initial consultation is free, and you pay nothing at all unless we win.