air bags

Published on: June 23, 2015

Defective Takata Airbags Now Linked to 105 Injuries, Six Deaths

A committee that is currently investigating car recalls linked to defective Takata airbags says that the Japanese auto parts supplier recently decided to update recall information. The updated toll from the airbags defect is now 105 injuries and 6 fatalities.

The earlier toll was 64 injuries and five fatalities linked to the malfunctioning airbag. However, since then, Takata has apparently identified at least 40 more incidents of malfunctioning airbags resulting in serious injuries, including one that resulted in at least one death.

The defect causes the airbags to shoot off potentially dangerous fragments that can seriously injure occupants in the vehicle. Occupants are at risk of serious injuries, including eye injuries, facial injuries and other injuries as a result of being hit in the face by these pieces of shrapnel.

Published on: November 17, 2014

Air Bag Recalls Continue to Expand

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

As we mentioned in a post back in September, 2014 has been a record year for auto recalls. And the year isn’t over yet. Approximately 14.3 million automobiles from ten different manufacturers have now been recalled for faulty air bags manufactured by Takata.

The air bags, which were installed in vehicles from 2000-2011, may explode when they inflate. The force of the explosion may shatter the air bag container, sending metal and plastic shrapnel into the driver and passenger. The problem has been linked to propellant chemicals in the air bag, and may be aggravated in high-humidity climates. As a result, there have been more widespread recalls in high-humidity areas, including Georgia. So far there have been five fatalities and over 100 injures attributed to the defective air bags. The most recent death, which sparked a new wave of recalls, was of a pregnant woman in Malaysia.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is urging owners of the affected vehicles, which include cars by Honda, Toyota, Mazda, BMW, Nissan, Mitsubishi, Subaru, Chrysler, Ford and General Motors, to act on the recalls. Car owners that have been contacted by their cars’ manufacturers should make repair arrangements with local dealerships. Consumers who have not been contacted and are concerned that their vehicles may be affected can check by their vehicle identification number (VIN) here.

Published on: April 24, 2011

Missing Airbags in Used Cars in Atlanta Pose Hidden Injury Risks Of Injury

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the most frequent cause of airbag injuries in an accident is not late deployment or early deployment, but failure to deploy.In many cases, airbags fail to deploy because they’ve not been replaced after the car was involved in a previous crash.What is even more worrying to Atlanta car accident lawyers is that there is currently little information about the number of used cars out there that do not have airbag systems.To prevent injuries, we need to develop a system to identify such cars before they are involved in an auto accident.

There have been several cases involving repair shops that charged for replacing of airbags after the vehicle was involved in an accident and then failed to replace the systems.One such repair shop was even sued by a couple whose son was killed in an accident.The couple had paid the repair shop to install airbags on its used vehicle, and after the accident, it was found that the airbags had been stuffed with paper.

For a repair shop, replacing an airbag system would cost between $1,000 and $3,000. In the absence of any regulations of these shops, there have been many cases where owners of used vehicles drove their car out of the repair shop, believing that their car was safe.Data by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found that over five years, at least 51 fatal accidents could be traced to missing airbags in cars.These airbags failed to deploy because they had never been replaced after a previous accident.

Published on: January 25, 2011

Study Underscores Need for Side Impact Protection During Atlanta Accidents

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has been issuing its much anticipated ratings for auto accident and injury protection for years now.A new analysis by the Insurance Institute shows that drivers of vehicles driving a car with a high rating by the Institute had an enhanced chance of surviving a side impact auto accident, compared to drivers of vehicles that did not have a good rating.

The researchers in the analysis tested cars that had side airbags. The tests were conducted at 31 mph. The researchers found that a person’s chances of dying in a side impact accident decreased by approximately 70% when his car was rated Good, compared to a car which was rated Poor. A person driving a car that was rated Acceptable was 64% less likely to die in a side impact crash, and a person driving a vehicle rated Marginal was 49% less likely to die in a side impact accident.

Side impact accidents are typically high-injury accidents, because there’s little space between the occupant and the other car to cushion the impact. Approximately 23 percent of all auto accident deaths in the US every year are caused in side impact accidents.The serious injuries that Atlanta car accident lawyers see in accidents like this are neck injuries, fractures, chest injuries, abdominal injuries, internal injuries and pelvic injuries.

Published on: June 10, 2010

Fewer Injuries for Unbelted Motorists with Airbag Deployment

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

It seems like a cruel trade-off. A new study shows that motorists involved in auto accidents who are wearing seatbelts may actually be at a higher risk of fatal injury in an accident when their vehicle is equipped with airbags, compared to unbelted motorists, who suffered fewer injuries.

The study conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety focused on more than 3,600 motorists between 2004 and 2007 who were involved in auto accidents. The researchers were stunned to find that motorists who used their seatbelts were up to 21% more likely to suffer fatal injuries in an auto accident, compared to motorists who were not wearing their seatbelts. The airbag designs in all these cases have been around since 2004, and, since 2008, have been part of the federal mandate for airbags. That means there are millions of cars out there equipped with these airbags, which seem to protect unbelted motorists against injury after an auto accident better than they do motorists who are safely buckled in.

There are no solid explanations for the results, but there are some theories out there.

Published on: December 12, 2009

Stronger Side Airbag Standards Proposed To Save Lives in Rollover Accidents

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

NHTSA Proposes Stronger Side Airbag Standards to Save Lives in Rollover Accidents

As Atlanta personal injury lawyers, we have had our complaints about the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and the slowness with which the agency reacts to urgent safety issues. However, we will also be the first to admit that the agency has done some stellar work recently, especially in the field of rollover crash prevention and minimizing injuries from these crashes.

Earlier this year, the agency announced that it would be requiring automakers to comply with stronger roof strength standards, o prevent the kind of injuries and deaths that result from roof collapses in a rollover. The agency has also been quick to catch on to the importance of devices like Electronic Stability Control technologies that can help prevent rollover crashes. Now, the agency is proposing stronger side airbag standards that will prevent the risk of side window ejections during a rollover. According to the Washington Post, the NHTSA could require automakers to install stronger side airbags that will prevent ejections even if passengers are not wearing seatbelts.

Published on: October 4, 2007

Faulty Seatbelts and Air Bags

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

In Georgia there is a doctrine known as Res Ipsa Loquitur, which translated means “the thing speaks for itself.” Some things are so manifestly the result of someone’s negligence that a jury can infer negligence on the part of the defendant. In other words, the evidence proves the point. For example, a scalpel left in the stomach of a surgery patient infers the negligence of the doctor. Also, a barrel of flour falling out a second story window infers the shopkeeper’s negligence.When applied, this doctrine creates an inference of negligence that the defendant must affirmatively disprove.

To apply this doctrine in a negligence case, the plaintiff must usually show:

That harm would not have occurred without someone’s negligence;