Our client was driving a 1997 Dodge Intrepid in Florida when it was involved in an offset frontal collision.  Despite the head-on crash, the airbags failed to deploy.  This caused the driver to suffer multiple, severe blunt force trauma injuries.  These injuries, resulting from the air bag not deploying, included traumatic brain injury (TBI), chest injuries and internal injuries.  Tragically, these injuries resulted in a wrongful death.

Dodge Airbag Failed to Deploy

Our investigation revealed that the front airbag crash sensors used by Chrysler in this 1997 Dodge Intrepid were enclosed inside a plastic shell, instead of a steel casing.  This caused the crash sensor to be severely damaged early during the crash, before it could send the deployment signal to the airbag.  Also, the vehicle’s structure was designed in such a way that that many crashes outside the vehicle’s frame rails (such as when two cars collide head-on but don’t perfectly overlap) would not trigger those sensors.