Often, when prospective clients call one of our DC airbag failure accident lawyers to discuss their particular accident, they will mention that their airbag did not deploy and that they would like Mr. Gelb to consider a claim against the automobile manufacturer or the airbag manufacturer for the defective product. DC auto injury attorney Mr. Gelb gently informs the caller that if another vehicle caused the accident to occur in the first place, due to their negligence, the claim will have a particular value, regardless of who ultimately pays the claim. This is an important distinction because an airbag defect claim is far more expensive and time-consuming than one because the other driver causes the accident.
Pursuing the manufacturer rarely makes economic sense. The vehicle would have to be inspected by an engineer, who would have to be willing to testify about the defective product. The cost of their time is thousands of dollars. Thus, pursuing the claim against the at-fault vehicle’s automobile insurer is often advisable. The time when suing the manufacturer may be worthwhile is if your case is worth far in excess of the limits. For example, if your case is worth $500,000, and there is only $60,000 in insurance coverage, then you are still entitled to $440,000 that no one is able to pay. Fortunately, the manufacturer often has more resources to pay a claim when they are liable. A DC airbag failure accident lawyer can help you decide whether it is worth suing both defendants or just the other driver.
There are three types of products liability defects. The most common is a manufacturing defect. That is when the manufacturer fails to build a product as intended. Second is a design defect. That is when the design is fundamentally flawed. Third, and least relevant in the context of airbags, is a warning defect. While warnings are necessary, particularly for lighter riders, this claim is less often made than the other two defect claims.
Naturally, there are situations where a person is injured solely because the airbag deployed when it should not deploy. This may be due to a design defect or a manufacturing defect. In either case, if the injuries are significant enough, the vehicle will need to be inspected by an expert of our DC airbag failure accident lawyers, who will be able to state, within a reasonable degree of certainty, what caused the unprompted deployment. Or, if it should have deployed and failed to do so, why that happened. The necessity to inspect the vehicle serves as a reminder that you should not get rid of the vehicle until we can get it inspected by an expert. To that end, it is critical to speak with a DC airbag failure accident lawyer immediately to get your vehicle repaired or sold to the insurance company.
Once negligence is determined, Mr. Gelb will send a letter of representation to the manufacturer of the airbag, or potentially of specific components of the airbag, and attempt to resolve the claim amicably. If that is not possible, the case will likely need to be litigated. In certain situations, the client may be limited to resolving the claim via binding arbitration. Please be sure to speak to a personal injury lawyer, such as Roger Gelb of Gelb & Gelb, P.C., who is experienced in airbag injury claims.
Mr. Gelb represented a woman whom a drunk driver in Hyattsville, MD, struck head-on. The woman’s injuries included cervical and lumbar strain, significant bruising (mainly to the chest as a result of the seatbelt), and a small cut on her lip. The airbags didn’t deploy in the accident and very likely should have. The woman’s medical expenses totaled only (relatively) $2,000.00, with no lost wages. The woman was fortunate enough to recover completely in only a few weeks. The client was adamant that she wanted to have the airbag system examined by an engineer to determine whether a potential product liability claim was viable.
Mr. Gelb explained to the client that the cost of the examination by the expert may be more than the claim’s value and that sufficient coverage was available under the drunk driver’s policy (and confirmed this discussion in writing). Nonetheless, the client insisted, and an expert was retained who examined the airbags in the car and determined that there was a defect in the system responsible for deployment. The cost of the evaluation was $3,000.00. Within a few months of the accident, Mr. Gelb secured an offer of $20,000.00 for the client, who, again, had wholly recovered physically and emotionally. There was no residual scarring or pain. The medical expenses were paid under the first-party coverage, so the client had no bills to pay except the expert’s fee.
The insurer of the drunk driver insisted that the specific Release be signed by the client, who wanted to accept the offer. The client signed the Release and received her net minus the engineer’s fee. The Release precluded the client from making any additional claims; however, the carrier pursued a contribution from the manufacturer of the airbag system. If the carrier was successful in their endeavor to share the expense of settling, the client’s payment to the expert only benefited that carrier and not herself in any way. So, claimants should be aware!
The example above clearly demonstrates why having your vehicle inspected for airbag failure does not necessarily make sense. DC airbag failure accident lawyer Roger Gelb made this clear in the client’s case. So, when does it make sense to file a claim against the manufacturer? To avoid any unnecessary costs, we should first consider whether there was actually an airbag failure. There are two instances when this may happen. First, if you are going fast enough that an airbag should deploy and does not do so. If you are unbelted, this speed is about 12 miles per hour. If you are seatbelted, the speed is about 16 miles per hour.
So, if you estimate that you were going about 45 miles per hour when you got into a DC car accident, then it is probably worth having your vehicle inspected, assuming the value of your case also far surpasses any otherwise available coverage.
The second time you should consider hiring a DC airbag failure accident lawyer is when the airbag does deploy and you or the other vehicle is not going fast enough to warrant airbag deployment. For example, if both vehicles are going about 3-5 miles per hour, the airbags should probably not deploy. And, if the airbags cause damage, you may have a case against the manufacturer in addition to against the other driver.
The DC airbag failure accident lawyers at Gelb & Gelb have been leading clients through precarious negligence cases for over 71 years. Since our founding in 1954, we have successfully resolved over 10,000 personal injury cases for victims in DC. Our car accident attorneys handle all types of automobile accidents. Further, there are often combinations of rear-end accidents or head-on collisions with airbag failures. You may wonder if an airbag failure is more likely when you are in a head-on collision or a sideswipe DC airbag failure accident attorneys are happy to break down all pertinent information as it applies to your case.
Call our office today for a free case consultation at (202) 331-7227.
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