Defective airbag failure to deploy attorney

When an airbag does not deploy in a crash severe enough to require it, the occupant absorbs the impact that the restraint system was designed to absorb. The resulting injuries are often to the head, face, chest and cervical spine, and they are frequently worse than the collision itself would explain. Whether that failure can be proved depends almost entirely on evidence that is easy to lose: the airbag control module, the vehicle in its post-crash condition, and the physical restraint components. Law Offices Of SRIS, P.C. has practiced since 1997 and handles injury claims in Virginia, Maryland, the District of Columbia, New Jersey and New York. If a non-deployment is suspected, the vehicle should not be released or repaired — reach our location at (888) 437-7747.

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Non-deployment is not the only failure mode

The phrase covers several distinct engineering problems, and they are proved differently.

A true non-deployment means the system never fired in a crash whose severity and direction should have triggered it. A late deployment means the airbag fired after the occupant had already moved forward into the space it was meant to fill, which can cause injury rather than prevent it. An aggressive or over-powered deployment means the airbag delivered more energy than the occupant’s size and position could tolerate. An inadvertent deployment means it fired without a qualifying crash at all.

Identifying which of these occurred is the first technical question, because it determines what the defect theory is: sensing and algorithm, timing, energy management, or an inflator or propellant problem.

Why an airbag may correctly not deploy

This has to be addressed honestly, because the manufacturer will address it first. Airbags are designed not to deploy in crashes below a severity threshold, and in some crash types — certain oblique impacts, rear impacts, low-speed underride, some rollovers where side or curtain systems govern instead — non-deployment of a frontal airbag is the intended behavior. A seatbelt-restrained occupant in a moderate impact may be adequately protected by the belt alone, which is what the design contemplates.

So the case is not made by pointing to a serious injury and a bag that stayed folded. It is made by establishing the actual crash severity, direction and pulse, and then showing that the system as designed or as built should have responded to that input and did not.

The airbag control module and why it must be preserved

Modern vehicles record crash data in the airbag control module or a related event data recorder. Depending on the make, model and year, that record can include pre-crash speed, throttle and brake application, seatbelt buckle status, change in velocity through the impact, and diagnostic trouble codes together with whether the module registered a deployment command.

That data is the single most important piece of evidence in a non-deployment case, and it is also fragile. Modules can be overwritten by subsequent ignition cycles, disturbed by attempts to read them with the wrong equipment, discarded during repair, or lost when a total-loss vehicle is sold for salvage and crushed. Insurance carriers move quickly to dispose of total-loss vehicles, and they have no duty to preserve evidence for a claim nobody has told them about.

The practical consequence is that preservation is the first step, not a later one. The vehicle should be secured intact, in a covered and controlled location if possible, with the module unread until it can be imaged by a qualified examiner using proper tooling and a documented chain of custody. Written preservation notice should go to the insurer, the repair facility, the tow yard and any salvage buyer. Where a vehicle has already been released, tracing it is sometimes still possible and should be attempted immediately rather than treated as hopeless.

What the manufacturer will argue

Expect four lines of defense, each answered with physical evidence rather than assertion.

That the crash was below threshold, so non-deployment was correct. This is met with the recorded change in velocity, the crush measurements, and reconstruction of the impact direction.

That the occupant was unbelted or out of position, so injuries would have occurred regardless. Buckle status is often recorded by the module, and belt hardware bears physical witness marks that either support or contradict the claim.

That the vehicle was modified, poorly maintained, or previously repaired in a way that affected the system. Service and collision history is obtained and read for this reason before the manufacturer raises it.

That any defect claim is barred because the product met the applicable federal motor vehicle safety standard. Compliance with a minimum standard is relevant evidence, not a complete answer, in most jurisdictions — but how far it goes, and whether any preemption argument has force, is a state-law question that has to be researched for the jurisdiction where the case will be filed.

Proving causation: the second collision

The claim in a restraint-failure case is usually not that the defect caused the crash. It is that the defect caused injuries worse than the crash alone would have produced. That framing requires two connected showings: what the occupant’s motion and loading would have been had the system performed as designed, and how the actual injury pattern differs from that.

Building it takes the crash data, the vehicle inspection, the medical imaging and treating records, and reconstruction of occupant kinematics. The injury pattern documented in the emergency department is often decisive, which is why complete records — including imaging itself rather than radiology summaries alone — are collected early.

Who may be responsible

Product cases frequently involve more parties than the vehicle brand on the grille. The vehicle manufacturer, the supplier of the airbag module or inflator, the sensor manufacturer, the assembler of the restraint system, and in some circumstances a repair facility that serviced the system or a seller that supplied a vehicle with a known unremedied recall may each have a role. Recall history and technical service bulletins for the specific vehicle identification number are checked at the outset, because an unperformed recall changes both the theory and the identity of the defendant.

Available insurance coverage

A product claim usually sits alongside an ordinary liability claim rather than replacing it. The at-fault driver’s liability policy, uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage under the injured person’s own policy, any umbrella layer, and a commercial policy if a vehicle was in work use may all respond. Manufacturers and suppliers carry their own products liability coverage, and a corporate defendant’s assets may matter independently of insurance. Medical payments or personal injury protection benefits may already have paid part of the loss and generated reimbursement rights that have to be identified before any settlement is structured. Declarations pages and complete policy forms with endorsements are obtained rather than assumed.

Filing deadlines

Every injury claim is governed by a statute of limitations, and the periods differ by state and by claim type. For personal injury actions the period is two years in Virginia under Va. Code § 8.01-243(A), accruing at the date of injury; three years in Maryland under Md. Code, Cts. & Jud. Proc. § 5-101; three years in the District of Columbia under D.C. Code § 12-301(8); two years in New Jersey under N.J.S.A. 2A:14-2; and three years in New York under N.Y. C.P.L.R. § 214(5). These are general periods. Discovery rules, tolling for minors and incapacity, claims against government entities — the District imposes a six-month notice-of-claim requirement for claims against the District government — and claim-specific statutes can shorten or extend them. Do not rely on a general period for your own case; have the deadline confirmed on your facts.

Product claims can carry an additional constraint that ordinary injury claims do not. Some states limit claims by reference to the age of the product rather than the date of injury, and some apply particular accrual or discovery rules to defect claims. Because these provisions vary and can bar a claim that is otherwise timely, the deadline in a product case should be confirmed against the specific state and the specific product rather than assumed from the general injury period.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does a serious injury mean the airbag was defective?

No. Airbags are designed not to deploy below a severity threshold and not to deploy in certain crash configurations, and a belted occupant in a moderate impact may be protected by the belt as intended. Establishing a defect requires showing what the crash inputs actually were and that the system should have responded to them. That is an evidence exercise, not an inference from the severity of the injury.

What is the airbag control module and what does it record?

It is the electronic unit that interprets sensor input and decides whether to fire the restraint system. Depending on make, model and year it can record pre-crash speed, braking and throttle input, seatbelt buckle status, the change in velocity through the impact, diagnostic codes and whether a deployment command was issued. It is usually the most important evidence in a non-deployment claim.

What should I do with the vehicle after the crash?

Do not authorise repair, do not release it to the insurer for salvage, and do not let anyone attempt to read the module with general-purpose equipment. Keep it intact and secured, in covered storage if that can be arranged, and get written preservation notice to the insurer, the repair shop, the tow yard and any potential salvage buyer. Total-loss vehicles are disposed of quickly, so this is a matter of days rather than weeks.

The insurance company already took my car. Is the case over?

Not necessarily. Vehicles can sometimes be traced through salvage records, auction records and the vehicle identification number, and modules are occasionally recoverable even after resale. It is harder and it does not always succeed, but it is worth attempting immediately. Even where the vehicle is gone, photographs, the repair estimate, the police report and medical records still carry information about crash severity and injury pattern.

Does the manufacturer win if the vehicle met federal safety standards?

Generally not by itself. Federal motor vehicle safety standards set minimum requirements, and compliance is evidence a manufacturer is entitled to present rather than a complete defense in most jurisdictions. How much weight it carries, and whether any preemption argument applies to the particular theory, depends on the law of the state where the case is brought and should be researched before filing.

What if I was not wearing my seatbelt?

It matters, and how much depends on the state. Some jurisdictions restrict the use of non-use of a seatbelt as evidence; others permit it in reduction of damages. Buckle status is frequently recorded by the module, so this is usually a documented fact rather than a disputed one. It affects the analysis without necessarily ending it, particularly where the design was supposed to protect unbelted occupants in the relevant crash mode.

Who can be sued in an airbag case?

Potentially the vehicle manufacturer, the maker of the module, inflator or sensors, the assembler of the restraint system, and in some circumstances a repair facility that worked on the system or a seller who supplied the vehicle with an unremedied recall outstanding. Recall history and technical service bulletins for the specific vehicle identification number are checked at the start, because they can change who the defendant is.

How long do these cases take?

Longer than an ordinary injury claim, because they require vehicle inspection, module imaging, reconstruction and engineering analysis before the theory is even settled, and corporate defendants litigate them. No timetable can responsibly be promised at the outset. What can be said is that the early evidence-preservation window is short and disproportionately determines whether the case can be brought at all.

About Mr. Sris

Mr. Sris is the owner and founder of Law Offices Of SRIS, P.C., which has practiced since 1997. He is a former prosecutor and is admitted in Virginia, Maryland, the District of Columbia, New Jersey and New York. Of Counsel attorneys contract directly with the firm and handle matters alongside him. In 2019 Mr. Sris testified before the Virginia House Courts of Justice Committee on House Bill 635.

Speak with Mr. Sris

In a non-deployment case the vehicle and its control module are the evidence, and both are commonly destroyed within weeks of the crash. Request a consultation. Reach our location at (888) 437-7747. Consultations are by appointment.

Last reviewed: August 24, 2026.

Attorney Advertising. Law Offices Of SRIS, P.C., principal office: 4008 Williamsburg Court, Fairfax, VA 22032. By appointment. Call (888) 437-7747 to schedule.

The information on this page is general and is not legal advice. No attorney-client relationship is created by reading it or by contacting the firm. Case results depend on a variety of factors unique to each case. Results may vary.

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