There are a lot of questions that people have when it comes to car accidents, particularly involving airbags. For instance, is a car totaled when the airbags deploy? When do airbags deploy? But what happens if my airbags don’t deploy properly? If your airbags didn’t deploy when they were supposed to, you may be wondering about airbags non-deployment settlement options. What is the average legal settlement if airbags do not deploy? Reading on, you can learn everything that you need to about this topic so that you can better understand your rights.
What Affects Settlement Amount if Airbags Don’t Deploy?
What is the Average Legal Settlement if Airbags Do Not Deploy? The first thing that you should be aware of is that there’s no such thing as an average settlement for these cases. The reason for this is that every case is different. There are various factors that can impact the settlement, including how much money you are entitled to for compensation. This section will take a closer look at the biggest factors that can affect your settlement amount.
The severity of Your Injuries
What is the Average Legal Settlement if Airbags Do Not Deploy? The biggest factor that affects your settlement is how severe your injuries are. If you have suffered from catastrophic injuries or the injuries have led to you being permanently impaired, you will typically end up with a higher settlement payout. Catastrophic injuries include loss of limbs, traumatic brain injuries, and injuries to the spinal cord, which can permanently and negatively impact your life. You will have increased medical bills as a result of these more serious injuries, and you may require additional funds to cover for loss of income and ongoing care that you might need. If a loved one died as a result of this, the surviving families can file a wrongful death claim for a higher settlement.
Did the Airbag Failure Impact Your Injuries?
Another factor is how the airbag’s failure to deploy impacted your injuries. You need to prove that the fact that the airbags didn’t deploy is what directly led to the injuries that you suffered. What this means is that you need to prove that you would have suffered fewer injuries and less severe injuries had the airbags deployed as they were supposed to. If the failure to deploy is what caused your injuries or caused them to be as severe as they were, then you will be entitled to compensation.
Available Insurance Coverage
A final factor to consider when talking about settlement amounts is the availability of insurance coverage. There may be multiple parties that could be liable for causing the car accident that led to your injuries, each of which may offer different levels of coverage to pay for your damages. What you need to be careful about here is that sometimes your injuries may go above and beyond the coverage that may be available, which can be devastating for families. However, if the airbag manufacturer or designer is liable, you will have more available insurance coverage to receive compensation from.
Who is Responsible for Your Airbags Not Deploying?
For those people who were injured in a car accident and had worse injuries due to the airbags not properly deploying, you could potentially seek compensation from the parties responsible for your vehicle’s airbags. Some parties that may be partially liable for your injuries include:
- Designers
- Airbag manufacturers
- Auto manufacturers
- Distributors
The parties who designed and manufactured the airbags are the parties who are usually responsible for airbag failure to deploy settlements. However, auto manufacturers may also be held liable if the auto parts that were connected to the airbag were responsible for their failure to deploy.
Damages in Cases Involving Airbag Deployment Failure
If you were injured in an accident, you are entitled to recover damages if your airbag fails to deploy. Again, the exact amount that you can get varies from case to case depending on the severity of the injuries and damages. You may be entitled to the following damages:
- Current and future medical bills
- Current and future lost wages if the accident left you unable to work
- Physical pain and suffering
- Emotional trauma
- Permanent disability
- Punitive damages (in cases of extreme negligence)
Proving Liability in Airbag Failure Cases
The hardest part of this process is proving liability in airbag failure cases. These personal injury claims that are specifically focused on airbag failure are a bit different than your standard car accident case. This is because airbag failures fall into the category of product liability law. When dealing with product liability cases, you don’t necessarily need to prove that the manufacturer or designer was negligent and/or careless when creating the airbags. Companies are often strictly held liable for your injuries, meaning that they will be liable for any injuries as a result of their products.
While this may make it sound like this makes it easier, you will still need to prove certain elements of your case, such as:
- The vehicle’s airbags were in some way defective.
- The vehicle’s airbags didn’t deploy when they were supposed to.
- You never made any modifications or other changes to the vehicle’s airbags.
- The fact that the airbag failed to deploy is what caused or worsened your injuries.
If you are able to prove this evidence in your case, you will be able to get compensation from the companies who were responsible for the airbags not deploying. This can be a great deal of help for those people who didn’t get the compensation that they need to cover their injuries from the other negligent party’s insurance company.
Conclusion
The Injury Firm understands just how devastating car accidents can be for the victims and their families. That’s why it’s important for you to get the best outcomes possible for your case. You may be entitled to compensation, which allows you to recover money for any damages that you may have suffered as a result of the accident. You do have rights and with the right legal team on your side, you can get the compensation that you deserve. Our team has a great deal of experience in personal injury cases, including car accidents. Contact us today to see how our team can help you get the best outcomes for your case.
