Lately, we have received numerous calls and emails about airbags causing breathing difficulties.  Most people wonder whether airbag deployment has been linked to such problems, especially when someone already has asthma or other conditions that affect breathing and respiration.

The answer is clearly YES. 

The automotive industry has known for many, many years that air bag deployment can cause breathing problems, and that those problems can be especially severe when a person has pre-existing respiratory conditions.  Here’s why:

Air bag deployment is often based on the burning of chemicals.  The most widely used chemical is sodium azide.  When it burns, it generates not only nitrogen gas that fills the airbag, but also numerous by-products.  In this way, it is similar to the burning of gas in your engine creating numerous by-products that come out of your exhaust system.  Although other airbag inflators may use stored gas, they also have a “heating element”, which means another chemical that is burned to heat and expand the gas that inflates the airbag.  Because no combustion is 100% pure, there are always by-products produced by all of these inflators.

The by-products fall within two broad categories: gases and particulates.  Gases that are produced can include those that have been linked to severe injuries, such as benzene and toluene.  Particulates are small particles that are suspended in the air, which appear as smoke or dust.  They are the reason that many people report seeing smoke in their car after an airbag deploys.  This is because all airbags have venting, either through the porous fabric or through vent holes, that allow the smoke to escape from the airbag, as seen in this photo:

Collectively, gases and particulates from an air bag are called “effluent”, which simply means they flow out from the air bag during deployment.

The concerns over the harm that could be caused by these airbag chemicals led the Society of Automotive Engineers to create a standard for measuring these by-products.  That standard lists numerous chemicals that should be measured by the manufacturers to determine the risk of injury posed by their inflators.

More than a decade ago, General Motors conducted tests to evaluate the effects of these chemicals on people exposed to air bag deployment.  I know, since I personally saw such testing.  I provided a car for the testing, as well as many air bag modules, and the testing was conducted by scientists at the General Motors Research Laboratories.  The results were astounding.

Volunteers were used for such testing.  They sat in the back seat of the car, with medical professionals supervising the testing.  There were also numerous instruments in the vehicle to measure the amount of gases and particulates, as well as their types and sizes.  The intent was to have the volunteer stay in the car, with the windows up, for 20 minutes following deployment.  During that period of time, the volunteers’ physiological signs were monitored, including their breathing rate.  In at least one case, the volunteer could not stand it, and needed to get out of the car almost right away.  His measurements showed significant distress!

That testing also showed that the most vulnerable people were those who had other, pre-existing conditions affecting their ability to breathe.  For example, people with asthma were at risk.  The more severe the asthma, the higher the risk from air bag deployment.  Several people have reported very significant respiratory injuries from airbag deployment; we have even heard of one death attributed to air bag deployment.  The worst injuries occur if a person cannot exit the vehicle right away (for example, if they are knocked out, or if the doors won’t open after the accident), and the windows are closed.

That same testing program also evaluated the effect of air bag deployment on a person’s hearing.  That will be the subject of a separate post.

One of the most common phone calls we receive is from consumers wondering why their air bag did not deploy during a crash.  This article describes how air bag deployment thresholds are established, the kinds of crashes during which air bags should deploy, and crashes where they may not deploy.  It also provides information on several different defects that may be responsible for the air bag failing to deploy when it should deploy.

AIR BAG DEPLOYMENT THRESHOLDS

Conventional air bags are generally designed to deploy in certain frontal crashes above the thresholds selected by the manufacturer.  Unfortunately, the consumer often cannot determine the thresholds for their car, as they vary widely between manufacturers, and even vary among different models from the same manufacturer.  However, there are some general guidelines that are helpful for consumers.

Although there were some variations, most frontal air bags from the 1990s were designed to deploy in crashes above a threshold level of 14 mph into a solid concrete barrier.  At the same time, most air bag systems were also designed to never deploy in crashes below 8 mph into a solid concrete barrier.  Between these two speeds, the air bags may or may not deploy, depending on the specifics of the accident and vehicle.

Airbag Deployment Threshold

The bottom line is this: airbag should always deploy in every crash where they are likely to prevent serious personal injury or a wrongful death.  If your crash severity exceeds the car company’s thresholds, and yet your air bags did not deploy, you may well have a defect in your vehicle’s air bag system.

CRASHES WHERE THE AIR BAG SHOULD DEPLOY

Your air bags should deploy in every crash where they will help prevent your injuries.  This means that your air bag should deploy in those crashes where you would otherwise suffer injuries of the type that the air bag is designed to prevent: head, neck, and chest injuries.  For example, your frontal air bag should deploy in an accident where your head would otherwise be injured from hitting your steering wheel.  Shown here is an example of an accident vehicle in which the air bags should have deployed.

Ford Airbag Failed to Deploy

Although frontal air bags are generally not designed to deploy in side impacts or rollovers, in some cases they should deploy in those kinds of crashes.  That is because some side impacts or rollovers also cause front-to-back deceleration that causes you to move forward inside your vehicle.  One example would be if you were driving at highway speed and were hit on the side of your car: in addition to crushing in the side of the car, your car would also slow down its forward motion rapidly, which could be enough to deploy your frontal air bags.  Similarly, frontal air bags should generally not deploy in rear impacts; however, if you are hit from behind and pushed into a car in front of you, that second impact to your car’s front end may justify deployment of your air bags.

For side impact air bags, they should generally deploy on the side of the car experiencing the side impact.  Similarly, rollover “curtain” air bags should deploy when the vehicle experiences a rollover, to help prevent head and neck injuries and to reduce the risk of being ejected through an open or shattered window.
     
Examples of crashes where air bag deployment would be expected include moderate to severe crashes involving your front bumper or the front corners of your vehicle, frontal impacts to a utility or telephone pole, and under-ride impacts where the front of your car goes under the side or back of a truck.

CRASHES WHERE THE AIR BAG SHOULD NOT DEPLOY

Your air bags should not deploy in those accidents where they will not prevent your injuries.  After all, air bags can deploy at speeds of more than 200 mph, and you should not be exposed to those kinds of forces if it won’t help you.  Thus, your frontal air bags should not deploy in side impacts, rear impacts and rollovers where there is no significant deceleration from front to back.  Other examples of crashes where your frontal air bags should not generally deploy include:

• Minor frontal crashes
• Most impacts to the undercarriage of the vehicle, such as when crossing a railroad, unless they would result in serious personal injury
• Impacts with animals such as deer or dogs
• Impacts with street curbs or parking blocks
• Driving on rough roads, including those with large potholes, gravel or bumps

Of course, your air bags should never deploy when your vehicle is not in an accident.  Although this seems obvious, there are actually many cases where this has occurred, often due to poor design of the air bag system software, or due to electrical issues with the air bag system.

WHY YOUR AIR BAG DID NOT DEPLOY

There are several reasons why your air bag may not have deployed during a crash.  The first reason is that perhaps your crash is not the type of accident where air bag deployment would be helpful.  For frontal air bags, this includes many, but not all, side impacts, rear impacts and rollovers.  This category also includes minor accidents in which the driver and front passenger (if there was one) did not suffer any significant injuries requiring medical treatment.

The second reason is that there could be a defect that prevented the crash sensors from detecting the crash properly.  Our investigation and analysis of air bag systems in hundreds and hundreds of crashes has revealed numerous causes that fall within this category.  In some cases, the air bag deployment threshold is simply not set appropriately, often due to inadequate testing.  In other cases, a flaw in the software of the air bag control module has caused it to ignore the data from one of the crash sensors.  In still other cases, there are simply too few sensors to properly detect real-world crashes; this often results from overly zealous cost-reduction efforts by car companies that are trying to improve their finances.  In a few cases, quality control efforts have failed to prevent defective sensors or air bag control modules from reaching the public.

2002 Buick Century: Fatal Non-Deployment

The third reason is that there could be a defect that prevented the deployment signal from reaching the air bag modules and deploying them.  Here, the problem usually lies with the electrical components and wiring between the crash sensors, control module and the air bag modules.  The most frequent defect in this category that we see is when the driver air bag fails to deploy, but the passenger air bag does deploy.  In many cases, this is due to a defective clockspring located in the steering column.  Millions of defective clocksprings have been recalled, generally due to poor quality control at either the supplier’s production plant or the car company’s assembly plant.

Airbag Clockspring

Ford Airbag Sensor Cut Wire

The fourth reason is that there could be a defect that prevented the actual air bag modules from deploying correctly.  In a few cases, the crash sensors and air bag control modules have commanded deployment of the air bags, but the air bags failed to respond.  This is almost always due to defects within the air bag modules themselves, usually due to poor quality control.

Although each vehicle and each accident is different, I can help you determine whether the air bags in your car should have deployed in your accident.  As an air bag attorney, as a former air bag engineer for General Motors, and as a court-recognized air bag expert witness, I have over 20 years of experience in analyzing air bag system performance.  If your air bag system is defective and you have a case, I would be honored to pursue justice for you.

BMW has recalled 200,000 of its vehicles for a potentially deadly airbag defect.  It affects certain 2006 BMW 3 series cars (BMW 325i, BMW 325ci, and BMW 330ci), 2004 – 2006 BMW 5 series cars (BMW 525 i, BMW 530i, BMW 545i, and BMW 550i) and 2004-2006 BMW X3 vehicles, depending on the type of seat.

The affected front passenger seats use an occupant detection mat from Siemens as part of an advanced air bag system.  The airbag system uses the data from the mat to determine whether to deploy the front passenger airbags.  Unfortunately, those mats installed in the front passenger seats are vulnerable to cracking along the side of the seat as a result of frequent use.  Some of those cracks could cause a change to the electrical characteristics of the mat.  That electrical change can lead the air bag system to recognize a failure, which can then shut down the passenger air bag system.  If that happens, the passenger air bag can fail to deploy during a crash when it is needed.  According to BMW, this should not affect the head protection system.

The government opened its defect investigation in September 2007.  They upgraded it to an engineering analysis in January 2008, noting that BMW had provided 3,465 owner reports and 28,238 warranty claims.  BMW notified the government that it would conduct this recall in July of 2008.  The government’s recall number is 08V-384.

Question #1: Do you focus on airbag defect cases?

While there is no shortage of lawyers who accept any kind of accident and injury case, there are few whose primary focus is airbag defects. Ask the lawyer how many airbag defect cases he’s investigated and filed. Also, request a list of representative airbag cases and ask which ones involve issues similar to your case.

Question #2: Do you have direct experience in the automotive industry?

The answer to this question is a big factor in separating the lawyers who represent airbag defect victims and those who take cases without having any real industry knowledge. A lawyer with automotive industry experience will know …

• How the decisions are made on what design is used
• What testing and analysis is usually conducted on their products
• Who are the key personnel conducting the research and analysis
• What documents should have been generated during the design and development process
• What documents will be most helpful for your case
• How internal investigations are handled

Question #3: Do you have an engineering background?

The technical nature of airbag defect cases requires lawyers to understand input from engineering experts in subjects such as accident reconstruction, design analysis, testing and biomechanics. Those who understand engineering can ask intelligent questions about the strengths and weaknesses of your case. Better yet is an attorney who has had “hands-on” responsibility for airbag engineering, and who has been dealing with airbags for many years. Questions from an attorney with a background in airbags will also give you the best possible chance of proving your case.

Question #4: Will you work on my airbag defect case, or will you delegate the work to junior lawyers and associates?

Why should your case serve as a training ground for an inexperienced junior lawyer or paralegal? Due to the reasons stated above, you need an experienced airbag lawyer handling your case.

Question #5: Will you be available when I need you?

Whether it’s normal business hours or not, you want your questions and concerns addressed immediately. So hire an airbag lawyer who is available during evenings and weekends – and willing to meet at a time and place that is convenient for you.

Also, don’t hesitate to request your lawyer’s cell phone number. An attorney who truly accommodates you will give you the number without hesitation.

Question #6: How much does it cost to hire you?

An airbag defect attorney should never make you pay an up-front fee just to consult with you. In addition, you should never pay attorney fees or any investigation costs until compensation is recovered for your injuries.

Also, be careful with attorneys who “nickel and dime” you for typical office expenses such as ordinary mail, copies, telephone or fax charges.

Question #7 (Ask yourself this final question.): Do you trust the lawyer?

Rely on your instincts. If you can’t trust the lawyer, don’t hire him.