In Texas is a Car Manufacturer Liable if Your Airbag Fails?

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Let's say you’re in a motor vehicle collision serious enough that your airbag should have come to your aid but but it didn’t deploy! Who’s fault is that? The car manufacturers? Someone else’s? What does that mean for you if your injuries were caused by the airbag’s failure to deploy? Airbags have been legally required on all vehicles in the US since 1995. And for good reason. In 2016, they saved 2,756 lives. But your airbag doesn’t do you much good if it never deploys. Here’s how liability might be determined if that happens to you: Texas’ Strict Product Liability Law - In Texas, the manufacturer is strictly liable for your injuries if you are injured as a result of a defect in a product. Whether or not the manufacturer was negligent in the making of your car’s airbag doesn’t matter. Negligence does not have to be proved. So that means even if the manufacturer did everything right and responsibly as they should have when making your car’s airbag, they can still end up legally responsible if their airbag is defective. If you ever have this type of claim, your injury lawyer will try to prove defects in design, manufacturing, or warning in regard to use. Because you don’t have to prove negligence, this makes your claim easier to win. Negligence May or May Not Come Into Play - Even though you don’t have to prove negligence to win your claim, you may be able to do so to recover additional financial damages. Negligence is harder and takes more work to prove. It may or may not be doable in your case, depending on the circumstances. To prove negligence, your lawyer must show the manufacturer owed you a duty of care via their product, that they breached that duty of care, and that their negligence caused your injuries at least in part. For example, a mechanic may damage your car’s airbag upon installation, but then fail to take any action to fix that damage. You May Be Able to Prove Breach of Warranty - Breach of warranty is the most difficult type of product liability claim to prove. Your accident may or may not result in the ability to prove this type of claim. You may be able to prove the manufacturer violated their warranty as stated (“express” warranty). You may also have an implied warranty of merchantability claim. This means the warranty was not expressly stated, and it was implied that the airbag perform to your reasonable expectations. And finally, you may have a claim if the manufacturer’s product violates “warranty of fitness.” This means their airbag was designed for a specific purpose, but failed to perform in accomplishing that purpose, leading to your injuries. Again, breach of warranty is extremely difficult to prove. And more than likely this won’t apply to your case. If your airbag fails, the manufacturer may be at fault. And now you understand how our personal injury lawyers may be able to prove that.

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