A serious crash can leave you with injuries that seem out of proportion to what happened.

Sometimes the explanation is not just the force of the collision. A seatbelt may have released when it should have stayed locked, an airbag may have failed to deploy, or an inflator may have ruptured and sent debris into the passenger compartment.

When a safety system malfunctions, the other driver’s insurance claim may be only part of the picture. California product liability law can also provide a path to pursue the manufacturer or another company responsible for a defective restraint component.

Easton & Easton has represented injured people in California for more than three decades. Our approach starts with the evidence, including the vehicle itself, the restraint components, crash data, medical records, and the circumstances surrounding the collision.

If you suspect something went wrong with your airbag or seatbelt, contact our team for a case review.

Key Takeaways

  • A defective airbag, inflator, seatbelt, or related component can create a product liability claim separate from a claim against the driver who caused the crash.
  • A police report may address how the collision occurred without determining whether a vehicle component contributed to the resulting injuries.
  • Takata airbag inflators remain subject to recalls, making it important to check whether a vehicle has an unresolved safety recall.
  • Preserving the vehicle can be critical because the damaged restraint components may contain evidence that cannot be recreated later.

If a restraint system may have contributed to your injuries, Easton & Easton can review the circumstances and explain what legal avenues may be available.

When a Restraint System Fails During a Crash

Seatbelts and airbags are designed to work together during a collision. The belt helps restrain the occupant while the airbag provides additional protection against contact with the steering wheel, dashboard, or other parts of the vehicle.

A failure in either system can change the nature of the injuries that follow.

The problem may involve an airbag that never deploys when it should, an inflator that ruptures, a seatbelt buckle that releases, or another component that does not perform as intended. In some cases, an airbag can also contribute to an injury because of the way it deploys.

That matters because a person’s injuries may have more than one cause. The initial collision might have been unavoidable once another driver entered the roadway, but the severity of the resulting injuries can raise a separate question.

Did the vehicle’s safety equipment perform as it was supposed to?

Research from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has found significant differences in fatality risk when occupants are protected by functioning seatbelts and airbags. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety also reports that frontal airbags reduce driver fatalities in qualifying crashes.

Those statistics do not establish that a particular airbag or seatbelt was defective. They do, however, explain why the performance of the restraint system deserves examination after a serious collision.

Several Companies May Be Connected to One Failed Component

The name on the hood is not always the only company involved in the design, manufacture, or distribution of a vehicle’s safety system.

The Automaker

The vehicle manufacturer may face a product liability claim when the vehicle’s design, manufacturing process, warnings, or integration of the restraint system is alleged to be defective.

An automaker can also be involved when a safety issue affects vehicles across a particular model line.

The Component Manufacturer

A vehicle manufacturer may purchase airbags, inflators, buckles, sensors, pretensioners, or other restraint components from separate suppliers.

That distinction became highly visible during the Takata airbag recalls. A defect involving one supplier’s inflators affected vehicles sold under numerous automaker brands. NHTSA’s recall database can help identify recalls associated with a particular vehicle.

A Dealer or Repair Facility

The history of the vehicle matters too.

If a recall repair was performed incorrectly, a replacement component was improperly installed, or another repair introduced a problem with the restraint system, the investigation may need to extend beyond the original manufacturer.

Determining responsibility requires more than looking at the badge on the vehicle. The particular component, its history, the applicable recall information, and the circumstances of the crash all have to be examined.

A Police Report Does Not Resolve a Product Defect Question

Serious crashes are often investigated quickly. Officers may document skid marks, vehicle positions, statements from witnesses, roadway conditions, and other evidence available at the scene.

That investigation can be useful without answering every question about the vehicle.

A police report may conclude that a driver caused the collision based on the evidence available at the time. It may not address whether a seatbelt released during impact, whether an airbag module functioned correctly, or whether a defective component changed the severity of the injuries.

That is where a separate vehicle investigation can become important.

The vehicle may need to be inspected before repairs are made. Relevant components may need to be preserved and examined. Crash data may also help reconstruct what happened during the impact.

What Must Be Shown in a California Product Liability Case

California recognizes strict liability for certain defective products. That means an injured person may be able to pursue a claim without proving that the manufacturer acted negligently in the traditional sense.

The precise legal theory depends on the facts, but a restraint-system case may involve one of several types of alleged defects.

Design Defect

The problem may stem from the way the component was designed. The claim then focuses on whether the product’s design created an unreasonable safety risk and whether the applicable California test for design defect is satisfied.

Manufacturing Defect

A component may have been designed appropriately but manufactured incorrectly. A particular airbag inflator, buckle, sensor, or other part could differ from the intended specifications.

Failure to Warn

A manufacturer may also face liability when inadequate warnings or instructions concerning a known or reasonably knowable danger contributed to an injury.

The central issue is causation. It is not enough to identify something unusual about a restraint system. The evidence must connect the alleged defect to the injury.

That may require examination of the vehicle, crash reconstruction, engineering analysis, medical evidence, and other expert testimony.

Preserve the Vehicle Before Its Evidence Disappears

A damaged vehicle can look like little more than a wrecked car after a crash. In a potential product liability case, it may be one of the most important pieces of evidence you have.

Do not assume the vehicle can be repaired, salvaged, or sold before the restraint system has been evaluated.

Photographs should be taken before repairs whenever possible. Relevant modules and components may need to be preserved. Event data recorder information can also be significant in reconstructing the collision and understanding what the vehicle was doing immediately before and during impact.

Medical records matter as well. The pattern and location of an injury can help experts evaluate whether the occupant’s body movement was consistent with proper restraint and airbag performance.

The sooner preservation issues are addressed, the more options may remain for investigating what happened.

What to Do After Suspecting an Airbag or Seatbelt Failure

The first priority after any serious crash is medical treatment. Once immediate safety concerns are addressed, evidence preservation can become just as important to a potential product liability investigation.

Consider taking these steps:

  • Keep the vehicle available for inspection. Do not authorize repairs, salvage, or disposal before the restraint system has been evaluated.
  • Photograph the interior and exterior. Capture the airbags, seatbelt buckles, dashboard, steering wheel, vehicle damage, and other relevant areas.
  • Preserve recall information. Save records showing whether the vehicle or a particular component was subject to a recall.
  • Request preservation of crash data. Event data recorder information may provide useful evidence about the collision.
  • Keep medical records. Documentation of your injuries can help establish how the restraint system affected you.
  • Identify prior repairs. Recall work, seatbelt repairs, airbag replacements, and other relevant service history may become important.
  • Get legal advice before releasing the vehicle. Once a vehicle is repaired or destroyed, some evidence may be impossible to recover.

California also imposes deadlines on personal injury claims. Under Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1, a two-year limitations period generally applies to actions for personal injury, although the deadline and applicable rules can vary based on the circumstances.

Do not assume that ongoing insurance negotiations extend a filing deadline.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I sue if my airbag did not deploy?

Possibly. An airbag that fails to deploy can support a product liability investigation when the evidence shows that the system was defective and that the defect contributed to the injury.

Deployment also depends on crash conditions, sensor inputs, impact direction, vehicle design, and other factors. A non-deployment by itself does not prove a defect. The vehicle and crash circumstances need to be examined.

What if the police report says I caused the accident?

That does not necessarily resolve a separate product liability question.

The report may address who caused the collision without determining whether a defective airbag, seatbelt, inflator, or other component increased the severity of your injuries. A later engineering investigation may provide evidence that was not available at the crash scene.

How much does it cost to investigate an airbag or seatbelt failure?

Easton & Easton handles qualifying injury cases on a contingency-fee basis, meaning there is generally no attorney fee unless there is a recovery. The specific terms of representation should be discussed with the firm before an investigation begins.

What if the manufacturer says the airbag worked as designed?

That position can be disputed with technical evidence.

An automaker may argue that the crash did not meet the conditions for deployment or that the restraint system performed within its intended parameters. Engineers and crash-reconstruction experts can examine the vehicle, crash forces, deployment data, component condition, and injury pattern to evaluate those arguments.

Easton & Easton for California Product Liability Claims

A restraint system is supposed to reduce the consequences of a crash. When the evidence suggests that it did not, the investigation should go beyond asking who caused the collision.

The important questions may involve the vehicle’s design, the individual component, its manufacturing history, recall status, prior repairs, crash data, and the injuries that followed. Getting those questions answered can require technical work that an ordinary insurance claim does not address.

Easton & Easton has more than three decades of experience handling serious injury matters in California. Doug, Brian, Matt, and Travis Easton have built the firm around investigating the evidence behind major injury claims rather than accepting the first version of events as the final one.

If you believe an airbag, seatbelt, or another restraint component may have contributed to your injuries, contact Easton & Easton to discuss the circumstances of your crash and what should happen to the vehicle next.