How can airbags cause injuries in a car accident?

When you are in a car crash, the resulting health complications may come in part from a faulty airbag.

Knowing what medical complications these malfunctioning devices can cause and why these injuries happen can help you know what steps to take next.

Impact and severity

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, front and side airbags are usually deployed in less intense car crashes. Both bags inflate quickly, which means the closer you are to them, the more likely they are to severely hurt you by accident. These devices need a certain amount of space to deploy safely or else you may face burns, deep abrasions or even a broken neck or back.

Product issues

If you had counterfeit airbags or ones that failed to inflate, you could sustain severe chest or head injuries. Health complications from unsafe chemicals can also cause long-term damage. Some defective devices even contain bits of metal shrapnel that lodge themselves into your skin during the crash.Malfunctioning airbags often deploy too late or not at all. In some cases, companies may offer recalls for products they know are prone to this issue.

Lasting complications

Concussions or soft tissue injuries sometimes occur after a crash. Unusual feelings of sleepiness or confusion are signs you could have head trauma. The shock and adrenaline from the scene may prevent you from noticing the pain until afterwards.

noticeable directly after an accident