Orlando Airbag Injury Attorney
Airbags are supposed to save lives, and often they do. But they are also explosive devices deploying at speeds between 100 and 220 miles per hour, and when something goes wrong, whether due to a defective component, a sensor failure, or a crash that triggers deployment under the wrong conditions, the injuries they cause can be severe and complicated to pursue legally. An Orlando airbag injury attorney at Orlando Accident Attorneys handles exactly these cases, where the physical harm is real but the responsible party is not always obvious at first glance.
Why Airbag Injuries Are Different From Other Car Accident Claims
Most car accident claims follow a recognizable path: one driver was negligent, the other driver was harmed, and the at-fault driver’s insurance pays. Airbag injury cases can work that way, but they frequently do not. The injury may have been caused by the airbag itself rather than the collision, which pulls in potential defendants that most accident victims would not think to consider.
A defective airbag can deploy too aggressively for the severity of the impact. It can deploy when there was no crash at all. It can deploy on the wrong side of the vehicle. It can fail to deploy when it should have. In each of these scenarios, the question shifts from driver negligence to product liability, and that means looking at the vehicle manufacturer, the airbag manufacturer, the supplier of specific components, or the dealership responsible for maintenance and recalls.
There is also the recall landscape to consider. Certain airbag manufacturers have been at the center of some of the largest automotive recalls in history, with inflators found to rupture and send metal fragments into the vehicle cabin. If your vehicle was subject to an open recall and the defect was not corrected, and you were then injured because of that exact defect, the path of liability runs through the manufacturer and potentially through whoever failed to notify you or complete the repair. These cases require a different kind of investigation than a standard collision claim, and they often produce a different set of defendants.
The Types of Injuries That Show Up in These Cases
The force involved in airbag deployment is significant by design. That same force that cushions you from hitting a steering wheel at high speed can cause serious harm on its own. Facial fractures, particularly around the nose and orbital bones, are common. Eye injuries, ranging from corneal abrasions to permanent vision loss, happen when the bag makes direct contact with a face that was positioned too close to the steering wheel or dashboard at the moment of deployment. Burns to the hands, arms, and face occur from the hot gases released during inflation.
Airbag-related trauma to the chest is frequently underdiagnosed in the aftermath of a crash because the symptoms overlap with what people expect after any collision. Bruised or fractured ribs, pulmonary contusions, and in some cases cardiac contusions can result from the impact of the bag against the chest wall. These injuries require careful medical evaluation and documentation, especially because their full severity may not be apparent on the day of the accident.
For passengers who are out of the proper seating position at the moment of deployment, or for smaller-framed adults and older occupants, the risk of catastrophic airbag injury is meaningfully higher. Spinal injuries and traumatic brain injuries, both from the bag’s direct contact and from the secondary motion it causes, are among the most serious outcomes. When injuries at this level are involved, the long-term costs of care, rehabilitation, and lost earning capacity have to be calculated carefully to make sure any recovery actually reflects what the injured person will face over years and decades, not just in the immediate aftermath.
Sorting Out Who Is Responsible
Florida operates under a comparative fault system, which means liability can be distributed across multiple parties, and each defendant’s share of responsibility affects what they owe. In airbag injury cases, that matters because the web of potentially liable parties is often broader than it appears.
The driver who caused the underlying collision, if there was one, is a natural starting point. But if the airbag deployed correctly and still caused catastrophic injury due to its design, the vehicle manufacturer carries responsibility for putting a dangerous product on the road. If a specific component failed because it was manufactured out of specification, the parts supplier may be directly liable. If a defect was known and a recall was issued, the question becomes whether the recall system functioned as it should and whether the vehicle owner was properly notified.
Florida’s product liability law allows injured consumers to pursue claims against manufacturers for products that were defective in their design, their manufacture, or in the warnings and instructions provided to users. An airbag case can touch all three of these theories simultaneously. Determining which applies, gathering the physical and technical evidence to support it, and building a case against defendants who will have engineering teams and experienced defense lawyers at their disposal is a substantial undertaking. That is not a reason to avoid it. It is a reason to build the case correctly from the beginning.
When crashes on Central Florida’s roads, whether on the I-4 corridor, State Road 408, US-192 near Osceola County, or any of the surface roads that run through Orlando’s neighborhoods and suburbs, result in airbag-related injuries, the investigation into both the crash itself and the airbag’s performance has to happen quickly. Physical evidence from the vehicle, including the airbag module itself and the electronic data recorder, can be lost or destroyed if it is not preserved promptly.
What Florida Law Gives You, and What Insurance Companies Won’t Volunteer
Florida’s no-fault insurance system requires that drivers carry personal injury protection coverage, and that coverage applies regardless of who caused the accident. But PIP has limits, and those limits are almost never sufficient to cover the medical costs associated with a serious airbag injury, let alone lost income and long-term care needs. Once your damages exceed what PIP can provide, and in airbag injury cases they typically do, you have the right to pursue additional compensation from the responsible parties.
Insurance companies handling these claims, whether it is the at-fault driver’s insurer or a product liability carrier defending a manufacturer, are experienced at managing their exposure. They move quickly after accidents to evaluate claims and make decisions about how to respond. Accepting a settlement offer before the full picture of your medical situation is clear is one of the most consequential mistakes an injured person can make, because once you settle, there is generally no path back if your condition turns out to be worse than it appeared at the time.
At Orlando Accident Attorneys, we work on a contingency fee basis, which means there is no cost to you unless we recover compensation on your behalf. That structure exists specifically so that people who have been seriously hurt do not have to weigh whether they can afford legal help against the medical bills already accumulating.
Questions About Airbag Injury Claims in Orlando
Can I have a claim even if the airbag deployed the way it was supposed to?
Yes. Proper deployment does not automatically mean there is no claim. If the airbag’s design was unreasonably dangerous for foreseeable users, or if the injury resulted from a manufacturing defect in how that specific unit was built, a product liability claim can proceed even when the airbag technically did what it was designed to do.
How long do I have to file a claim in Florida?
Florida’s statute of limitations for personal injury claims is generally two years from the date of the accident. For product liability claims, the same general timeframe applies, though there are nuances depending on the specific theory of liability. Acting sooner rather than later protects your ability to preserve evidence and build a complete case.
My car was under a recall for the airbag. Does that automatically mean I have a case?
Not automatically, but it is a significant factor. If the defect covered by the recall is the same defect that caused your injury, and especially if the recall work was never performed, that creates a strong foundation for a product liability claim. The specifics matter, and they are worth analyzing carefully with an attorney.
What if I was not wearing my seatbelt at the time of the crash?
Florida’s comparative fault rules apply, and the absence of a seatbelt may be raised by the defense as a factor that contributed to the extent of your injuries. This does not eliminate your claim, but it is a consideration that your attorney needs to factor into the strategy from the beginning.
How do I preserve the airbag and vehicle evidence?
Do not allow the vehicle to be repaired, scrapped, or returned to a manufacturer or insurer before the airbag module and electronic data recorder have been inspected and preserved. Contacting an attorney as soon as possible after the accident gives your legal team the ability to send a spoliation letter demanding that all parties preserve the evidence.
Can I still have a claim if the at-fault driver had minimal insurance coverage?
If a product defect contributed to your injuries, the manufacturer’s liability does not depend on the at-fault driver’s insurance. A product liability claim runs separately from a negligence claim against a driver, and the two can be pursued simultaneously when both apply to the facts of your case.
Talk to an Orlando Airbag Injury Lawyer About Your Situation
Airbag injury cases are technically demanding and often involve defendants with substantial resources. Orlando Accident Attorneys handles these cases because we understand both the product liability framework and the personal injury process that applies when multiple parties share responsibility for serious harm. We represent clients throughout Orlando and the surrounding communities in Orange, Seminole, and Osceola counties, and we offer free consultations so you can understand your options before making any decisions. Reach out to an Orlando airbag injury lawyer at our firm and get an honest assessment of what your case involves.