Adam S. Kutner, Injury Attorneys · Las Vegas Valley

Las Vegas Airbag Injury Lawyer

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    In This Guide

    Why an Airbag Injury Can Be Two Claims, Not One

    An airbag injury can give you two separate claims. There is the ordinary claim against whoever caused the crash, and, where the airbag itself failed, a second claim against the airbag’s manufacturer for a defective product. The second one is easy to miss, and it is often where the more serious injuries and the larger recovery sit.

    An airbag is supposed to reduce injury, and most of the time it does. But an airbag can cause injuries of its own when it deploys too hard, too late, or without warning, or when it ruptures and sends fragments into the car. When that happens, the question is not only who caused the crash, but whether the airbag performed the way a safe product should have.

    When an Airbag Is Defective

    A defective airbag is one that does not perform the way a reasonably safe airbag should, and the failures fall into a few recognizable patterns:

    Rupture

    The inflator bursts and sends metal or plastic fragments into the cabin. This is the failure at the center of the Takata airbag recall, which the federal safety regulator describes as the largest and most complex recall in United States history.

    Failure to deploy

    The airbag stays in its housing in a crash serious enough that it should have opened, leaving the occupant unprotected.

    Late or over-aggressive deployment

    An airbag that fires a fraction of a second too late, or with too much force, can injure the very person it is meant to protect.

    Unexpected deployment

    An airbag that goes off with no crash at all, causing a loss of control or a direct injury.

    How Nevada Holds an Airbag Manufacturer Liable

    Nevada holds the makers of defective products responsible under a rule called strict product liability. In Shoshone Coca-Cola Bottling Co. v. Dolinski, the Nevada Supreme Court adopted the doctrine, holding that a company that puts a product on the market in a condition dangerous for use is strictly liable to the user for injuries it causes, even if the maker used all reasonable care and even though the user never dealt with it directly.

    Strict liability makes the claim more direct, but it does not make it automatic. As the court was careful to say, you still have to prove that a defect in the product caused your injury, and that the defect existed when the product left the manufacturer. For an airbag, that means preserving the vehicle and the airbag module so an engineer can examine what actually happened.

    What Is My Airbag Injury Case Worth?

    It depends on the severity and permanence of your injuries, what they cost you in treatment and lost earnings, and whether both a crash claim and a product claim are in play. Airbag injuries are frequently to the face, eyes, chest, and hands, and some, such as burns and eye injuries from a rupture, are permanent, which raises what the claim has to account for.

    Our guide to the damages available in a Nevada injury claim covers the categories. Nevada also uses comparative negligence (NRS 41.141), so being partly at fault in the crash reduces recovery rather than ending it, and on its own it does not bar a separate product claim against the airbag’s maker.

    What To Do After an Airbag Injury in Las Vegas

    What matters most after an airbag injury is preserving the vehicle, because the airbag module is the evidence in a product claim and it disappears when the car is repaired or salvaged. Four things do most of that work:

    • Get medical attention the same day.
      Airbag injuries to the eyes, face, and chest can be worse than they look at the scene, and a same-day record ties them to the crash. If your regular doctor cannot see you the same day, go to an urgent care.
    • Do not let the car be repaired or salvaged yet.
      The airbag module, the sensors, and the deployment data are the proof in a product claim. Once the vehicle is fixed or sent to salvage, that evidence is gone. Tell your insurer you need it preserved.
    • Photograph the airbag and the injuries.
      The deployed airbag, any fragments or scorching, and your injuries while they are visible. These document how the airbag behaved.
    • Call before you sign anything from an insurer.
      A total-loss release or an early settlement can give the car away and close a product claim before it is investigated. Talk to us first.

    Were You Hurt By An Airbag?

    Call (702) 382-0000 and talk it through with us, day or night. The consultation is free, and there is no obligation afterward.

    Get a free consultation

    Questions About Airbag Injury Claims In Las Vegas

    An airbag protects by deploying with great force in a fraction of a second, and that same force injures when the airbag fires too hard, too late, without warning, or ruptures. Face, eye, chest, and hand injuries are the common result. When the airbag behaved the way a safe one should have, those injuries are part of the crash claim; when it did not, they can also support a product claim against the manufacturer.

    The manufacturer of the airbag or the vehicle, under Nevada’s strict-product-liability rule. That claim is separate from any claim against the driver who caused the crash, and the two can run together. Which manufacturer, and whether the airbag was part of a recall, is something we investigate once the vehicle is preserved.


    It can. A recall is evidence that the safety regulator identified a defect in that airbag, which is a strong starting point. It does not replace proving that the defect caused your specific injury, so preserving your vehicle and its airbag module still matters.

    Possibly. An airbag that fails to deploy in a crash serious enough to require it can be as much a defect as one that ruptures. The analysis is the same: preserve the vehicle so an engineer can determine whether the system should have fired and why it did not.

    Two years from the injury for a personal injury claim, including a product claim (NRS 11.190(4)(e)). The more urgent clock is the vehicle itself, which can be repaired or salvaged within weeks and takes the evidence with it.

    Yes. The two claims target different wrongs, one driver’s negligence and one manufacturer’s defective product, and pursuing the crash claim does not give up the product claim. Being partly at fault in the crash does not by itself defeat a claim that the airbag was defective.

    The largest is the Takata inflator recall, which spans tens of millions of vehicles across many makes. Rather than rely on a list, check your own vehicle by its VIN through the NHTSA recall resource. If your car was under a recall, that is useful evidence, though you still have to prove the defect caused your injury.

    There is no standard figure. What the claim is worth depends on the severity and permanence of your injuries, and whether both a crash claim and a product claim against the airbag’s manufacturer are in play. Airbag injuries to the eyes, face, and chest can be permanent, which raises what the claim has to account for. Preserving the vehicle so an engineer can examine the airbag is what protects the product side of the claim.

    Be careful. Genuine recalls exist and are handled through the manufacturer and NHTSA, but unsolicited calls, texts, or letters promising a quick airbag settlement are often scams designed to collect your personal information. A real injury claim is not settled through a cold call. If you are unsure whether something is legitimate, do not give out information; call us and we will tell you.

    Talk to an Airbag Injury Lawyer in Las Vegas

    Tell us what happened and where the car is now. Our airbag injury attorneys have stood up for Las Vegas crash victims for more than 35 years, and you reach the same law firm day or night, not an answering service.

    (702) 382-0000 Start Your Free Consultation

    More on Nevada Injury Claims

    Shoshone Coca-Cola Bottling Co. v. Dolinski, 82 Nev. 439 (1966) – Nevada adopts strict product liability

    NHTSA – Takata Air Bag Recall Spotlight

    NRS 41.141 – Comparative negligence

    NRS 11.190 – Periods of limitation

    Areas We Service in Las Vegas, Nevada:

    Henderson Anthem Summerlin Paradise Las Vegas Strip Nellis AFB Spring Valley

    This article is for general information only and is not legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. For advice about your specific situation, talk to a qualified Nevada attorney.

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