By Lobo Ley | Dallas Defective Airbag Injury Attorneys
A defective airbag injury in Dallas can leave you asking a frustrating question: how did a safety device make the crash worse? Airbags should help protect you during a car accident. However, when an airbag deploys too violently, deploys too late, fails to deploy, explodes, releases shrapnel, or causes burns and trauma, the injury may point to more than a typical crash claim.
You may be able to file a claim if a defective airbag injured you in a Dallas car accident. Depending on the facts, your case may involve the careless driver who caused the crash, the vehicle manufacturer, the airbag manufacturer, a parts supplier, a repair shop, or another company in the chain of responsibility. Because these claims can involve both personal injury law and product liability law, you should take the injury seriously from the beginning.
If an airbag injured you after a Dallas crash, call Lobo Ley or use the firm’s online contact form to discuss what happened. Lobo Ley is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and the team can meet you at home, at the hospital, or wherever is most convenient for you.
Defective Airbag Injury In Dallas: When Can You File A Claim After A Crash?
You may have a defective airbag injury claim in Dallas if the airbag failed to work as reasonably expected and caused or worsened your injuries. Airbag claims often focus on whether the safety system had a design defect, manufacturing defect, warning defect, installation issue, recall problem, or repair-related failure.
For example, your claim may involve an airbag that deployed in a minor crash with excessive force. It may also involve an airbag that failed to deploy during a severe front-end collision on I-35E, Central Expressway, I-30, or the Dallas North Tollway. In other cases, the airbag may inflate late, rupture, spray chemicals, or send metal fragments into the driver or passenger compartment.
A defective airbag claim may exist even if another driver caused the crash. The at-fault driver may be responsible for causing the collision, while the airbag or vehicle company may be responsible for making your injuries worse. This matters because one crash can create more than one legal claim.
You should not assume the airbag worked correctly just because it deployed. You should also not assume you have no claim because the crash looked minor. Instead, the key question is whether the airbag performed safely under the circumstances and whether its failure caused additional harm.
Dallas Car Accident Claim: What Airbag Problems Can Lead To Serious Injuries?
A Dallas car accident claim involving an airbag can look different from a standard crash case. In a normal negligence claim, the focus often stays on how the collision happened. In a defective airbag case, the investigation must also ask how the vehicle responded during the crash.
Common airbag problems include:
- Failure to deploy: The airbag does not inflate during a crash when it should have
- Late deployment: The airbag inflates after the occupant has already moved into danger
- Overpowered deployment: The airbag deploys with excessive force and causes preventable trauma
- Unexpected deployment: The airbag inflates during normal driving or a very minor incident
- Ruptured inflator: The airbag inflator breaks apart and sends debris or metal fragments into the vehicle
- Chemical exposure: The airbag releases gases, powders, or substances that cause burns or breathing problems
- Sensor failure: The crash sensor, control module, or wiring fails to trigger the system correctly
These problems can cause facial fractures, eye injuries, hearing loss, burns, scars, chest injuries, broken wrists, brain injuries, neck injuries, and severe emotional distress. Additionally, when an airbag fails to deploy, the driver or passenger may hit the steering wheel, dashboard, windshield, door, or another hard surface.
After any serious crash, medical records matter. Tell your doctor if the airbag hit your face, chest, arms, or abdomen. Also mention smoke, powder, burns, ringing in your ears, blurred vision, dizziness, numbness, or memory issues. These details can help connect your injuries to the airbag system.
Defective Airbag Claim In Texas: Who May Be Responsible For Your Injuries?
A defective airbag claim in Texas may involve several responsible parties. Because modern vehicles include complex safety systems, many companies may have played a role in designing, building, installing, inspecting, selling, or repairing the part that failed.
Possible responsible parties may include:
- Vehicle manufacturer: The company that designed, assembled, or sold the vehicle
- Airbag manufacturer: The company that made the airbag module, inflator, sensor, or related component
- Parts supplier: A company that supplied defective materials, electronics, wiring, or safety parts
- Dealership: A seller that failed to address a known recall or safety issue before sale
- Repair shop: A mechanic or body shop that installed the wrong part or failed to restore the system after repairs
- At-fault driver: The driver who caused the collision that triggered the airbag injury
- Corporate vehicle owner: A business that failed to maintain a fleet vehicle or ignored known safety warnings
In some cases, the vehicle may have changed owners several times. A used car in Dallas, Irving, Plano, Frisco, or Arlington may have unrepaired recall issues. A prior collision repair may also affect the airbag sensors or wiring. Because of that, your legal team may need to review the vehicle history, repair records, recall notices, crash data, and inspection reports.
Lobo Ley has nine attorneys, one of counsel, and a dedicated team of investigators, paralegals, and support staff. That kind of team can make a real difference when your personal injury claim requires vehicle preservation, records requests, witness follow-up, and coordination with technical professionals.
Texas Product Liability Claim: How Does The Law Apply To Defective Airbags?
A Texas product liability claim can involve a product that was defectively designed, defectively manufactured, or sold without adequate warnings. In a defective airbag case, the claim may argue that the airbag system was unreasonably dangerous and that the defect caused your injury.
Texas law also gives you a limited amount of time to act. In many Texas personal injury cases, a person must file suit no later than two years after the cause of action accrues.
However, product liability cases can involve additional timing issues, especially when the vehicle, airbag, or component was manufactured or sold years before the crash. Because deadlines can affect your rights, you should not wait to ask questions. Evidence may disappear quickly, and the vehicle itself may become the most important piece of evidence in the case.
Texas also uses proportionate responsibility in many injury claims. Under Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code Chapter 33, a claimant generally cannot recover damages if their percentage of responsibility is greater than 50 percent.
In plain English, the insurance company or product defendant may try to blame you, another driver, a repair shop, or someone else. A detailed investigation can help separate crash fault from airbag defect fault.
Airbag Injury After Car Accident: What Evidence Can Help Prove The Airbag Was Defective?
An airbag injury after a car accident requires fast evidence preservation. Unlike some injury claims, the vehicle itself may hold key proof. If the car gets repaired, sold, destroyed, or sent to salvage, valuable evidence can disappear.
Important evidence may include:
- The vehicle: The damaged car should be preserved before repairs or disposal
- Airbag components: The deployed airbag, inflator, sensors, module, wiring, and steering wheel may need inspection
- Crash data: Event data recorder information may show speed, braking, seatbelt use, and deployment timing
- Recall records: Open recalls, prior recall repairs, and manufacturer notices may support the claim
- Repair history: Prior body work, electrical work, or airbag replacement may reveal installation problems
- Medical records: Treatment notes can connect burns, fractures, cuts, or trauma to the airbag event
- Photos and video: Images of the interior, airbag, injuries, roadway, and vehicle damage can preserve key details
You should take photos from multiple angles if you can do so safely. Photograph the steering wheel, dashboard, airbags, seatbelts, windshield, seats, warning lights, vehicle exterior, and visible injuries. Also keep any clothing, glasses, phones, child seats, or personal items damaged during the crash.
Most importantly, do not authorize destruction of the vehicle before speaking with a lawyer. Even if the insurer says the car is a total loss, the vehicle may still carry critical proof.
Takata Airbag Recall Injury: Why Recall History Still Matters For Texas Drivers
Airbag recalls remain highly relevant for Texas drivers. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration continues to urge vehicle owners to check for Takata airbag recalls and notes that vehicle owners should check for recalls at least twice a year.
NHTSA has described the Takata airbag recall as the largest and most complex auto safety recall in United States history, with tens of millions of defective Takata airbags still involved in recall efforts.
This matters because some recalled airbags can rupture during deployment and send dangerous fragments into the vehicle. A Dallas driver may buy a used car without realizing it has an unrepaired recall. Likewise, a family in Houston, San Antonio, Fort Worth, El Paso, Austin, Corpus Christi, Lubbock, Laredo, or Frisco may not receive recall notices if the manufacturer has outdated owner information.
Recall history does not automatically prove your case. However, it can become powerful evidence when a recalled airbag injures you. Your team may need to determine whether the vehicle had an open recall, whether the recall repair was completed, whether the replacement part was safe, and whether anyone failed to warn you.
Dallas Defective Airbag Lawyer: What Compensation Can You Seek?
A Dallas defective airbag lawyer can help identify all losses connected to the crash and the airbag injury. In many cases, the insurance company may focus only on the crash itself. However, if the airbag worsened your injuries, your damages may extend far beyond the damage to your vehicle.
You may be able to pursue compensation for:
- Emergency treatment: Ambulance transport, emergency room care, trauma treatment, imaging, and testing
- Follow-up care: Surgery, burn care, eye care, physical therapy, pain management, and rehabilitation
- Lost income: Missed work, reduced hours, lost bonuses, and used leave time
- Reduced earning ability: Long-term limits that affect your job, trade, or career path
- Pain and suffering: Physical pain, scarring, anxiety, sleep disruption, and loss of daily comfort
- Disfigurement: Visible scars, burns, facial injuries, or permanent changes to appearance
- Property damage: Vehicle repairs, total loss value, towing, storage, and rental costs
You should keep every medical bill, prescription receipt, employer note, pay record, insurance letter, and repair estimate. In addition, write down how your symptoms affect your life. For example, note when pain keeps you from driving, sleeping, lifting your child, working at a desk, or returning to normal routines.
Defective Vehicle Safety System Claim: What Should You Do After The Crash?
A defective vehicle safety system claim can become harder to prove if you wait too long. After a crash, you may feel pressure from the insurance company, tow yard, body shop, or lender to move quickly. However, you should slow down before anyone repairs, sells, or scraps the vehicle.
Take these steps as soon as possible:
- Get medical care: Let a doctor evaluate injuries caused by the crash and airbag deployment
- Preserve the vehicle: Tell the insurer, tow yard, and repair shop not to destroy or alter the vehicle
- Photograph everything: Capture the airbags, interior damage, exterior damage, injuries, warning lights, and vehicle identification number
- Save documents: Keep recall notices, repair records, purchase documents, insurance letters, and medical paperwork
- Check recalls: Use the vehicle identification number to look for open recalls through official recall tools
- Avoid recorded statements: Do not guess about fault, speed, injuries, or vehicle condition before you understand the facts
- Contact a lawyer: Ask for help before signing releases, accepting payment, or giving up control of the vehicle
These steps can protect your claim and help your legal team move quickly. They can also prevent the defense from arguing that missing evidence makes the defect impossible to prove.
Car Accident Lawyer In Dallas: Why Lobo Ley Can Help With A Defective Airbag Case
A defective airbag case can demand more investigation than a basic rear-end crash or side-impact collision. The case may require a review of crash mechanics, vehicle design, recall history, product warnings, prior repairs, and medical causation. In addition, several insurers may become involved at the same time.
Lobo Ley has spent 15 years helping thousands of clients obtain compensation they need after motor vehicle accidents and many other accident-related injuries. The firm’s verdicts, settlements, and testimonials speak for themselves and include seven-figure settlements.
The firm also understands that injured clients need practical support. You may not be able to drive across Dallas after a crash. You may be receiving care at a hospital, recovering at home, or trying to arrange follow-up appointments while bills arrive. Lobo Ley is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and the team is prepared to meet at home, at the hospital, or wherever is most convenient for you.
Defective Airbag Injury In Dallas FAQ: Common Questions After A Crash
Can You File A Claim If A Defective Airbag Injures You In A Dallas Car Accident?
Yes, you may be able to file a claim if a defective airbag injured you or made your injuries worse. Your case may involve the at-fault driver, the vehicle manufacturer, the airbag manufacturer, a parts supplier, a dealership, or a repair shop.
What If The Airbag Failed To Deploy During A Dallas Crash?
You may still have a defective airbag claim if the airbag should have deployed but failed to do so. The investigation may review crash severity, sensor function, wiring, module data, prior repairs, and recall history.
What If The Airbag Deployed But Still Injured Me?
Airbags can cause some force during deployment, but serious injuries may raise questions about defects. Burns, shrapnel wounds, eye injuries, facial fractures, and unusually severe trauma may justify a closer review.
Does A Recall Prove My Defective Airbag Injury Claim?
A recall can support your claim, but it does not automatically prove every legal issue. You still need evidence that the defect existed, that it affected your vehicle, and that it caused or worsened your injury.
How Long Do I Have To File A Defective Airbag Claim In Texas?
Many Texas personal injury claims have a two-year deadline, but product cases can involve additional timing issues. Because evidence can disappear quickly, you should ask for legal guidance as soon as possible after the crash.
Dallas Defective Airbag Injury Help: Talk To Lobo Ley Today
A defective airbag injury in Dallas can turn a frightening crash into a much more painful and confusing experience. You may face medical treatment, missed work, vehicle loss, insurance pressure, and unanswered questions about why a safety system failed when you needed it most.
You do not have to sort through those questions alone. Lobo Ley has nine attorneys, one of counsel, and a dedicated team of investigators, paralegals, and support staff ready to help injured Texans. Whether your crash happened in Dallas, Houston, Irving, or Frisco, the team can review what happened and explain your next steps.
If a defective airbag injured you in a Dallas car accident, call Lobo Ley today at 713-481-0072 or use the online contact form to get started. The firm is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and can meet you at home, at the hospital, or wherever is most convenient for you.
Disclaimer: This blog is intended for informational purposes only and does not establish an attorney-client relationship. It should not be considered as legal advice. For personalized legal assistance, please consult our team directly.