NBXs.org

Posts Tagged ‘Side Air Bag’

Common defects in side air bag systems include failure to install a side air bag, or installing only a torso air bag that fails to protect the head and neck. Perhaps the most common defect reported to us is the failure of the side air bag to deploy during a side impact crash. Often, this results from defective sensor placement or defective software algorithms in electronic sensors that fail to detect the crash severity. This can stem from negligent testing programs that do not address real-world crashes.

Some side air bags can hang up on the seat or trim panels, causing them to deploy incompletely or improperly. Also, a few side air bag systems were defectively designed to be so forceful that they can inflict serious personal injuries or even catastrophic injuries when they inflate. Such “aggressive” side air bags are particularly dangerous for children and infants.

These defects can cause severe personal injuries, including head trauma; traumatic brain injuries (TBI); skull fractures; facial injuries; spinal cord injuries; cervical spine fractures or dislocations; paralysis (paraplegia, quadriplegia); arm and hand injuries, including traumatic amputation; chest injuries; heart injuries; pelvic injuries; bone fractures/orthopedic injuries; flail chest; as well as numerous other injuries. In some cases, defects in your side air bags can cause your death.

If you have any questions about whether the air bags in your vehicle are defective or failed to protect you in a crash, please feel free to call me on our toll-free number, fax me or email me. As an air bag attorney, as well as a former air bag engineer and expert witness, I would be honored to apply my 20 years of experience with air bags to answer your questions anywhere in the United States.

Incoming search terms:

• air bag (5)
• airbag motorcycle fail (1)
• motorcycle airbag fail (1)
• motorcycle airbag neck (1)

by Taras S. Rudnitsky
Air Bag Attorney and Former Air Bag Engineer

While all new vehicles sold today must have frontal air bags that deploy from the steering wheel and dash to protect you in a frontal crash, many also have side air bags to shield you during side impact collisions.

This article explains how side air bags work, the different types of side air bags, and how to identify possible defects and the injuries they cause.

How Side Air Bags Work

Side air bags are sometimes called side impact air bags and are abbreviated as SAB or SIAB. They are designed to protect you when your car is struck on the side, such as during an intersection (T-bone) accident or if your car slides off the road and its side hits a tree or utility pole.

Crash sensors for side air bags are usually installed inside the bottom of the “B-pillar,” which is the post behind the front door that helps hold up the roof. In some vehicles, these crash sensors are inside the front door or near the back seat area.

Your car, truck, van or SUV usually has at least one crash sensor on each side of the vehicle. During a side impact crash, one of your side air bag sensors should detect the sideways (lateral) deceleration and send an electrical signal to the air bags to begin inflating.

Side air bags are most commonly installed inside your seat, attached to the upper part of the seat frame nearest the door. In a few vehicles, the side air bags are installed inside your door, beneath the plastic trim cover. These side air bags are designed to provide a protective cushion between you and the side of your car.