I got in a accident but my air bags did not deploy can i sue?

Question

i was pulling of a shoulder with my mercedes benz S430 when a Nissan Armada hit me and smashed the driver door, but none of the airbags deployed

so can i do something about it

Answer 1

Yeah suing Mercedes probably isn't going to get you very far, and If you do end up suing them you probably would end up losing and settling.

Well, possible you could so the person who was in the Armada, unless you didn't have your brake lights on.  Each and every small detail counts

Answer 2

sounds like a court case to me

a police report that states the air bags did not deploy would help

but i dot know if its a good idea to sue Mercedes-benz

Answer 3

Does it have side curtain airbags? The driver and passenger airbags wouldn't deploy in a side impact. Only side curtain, or side airbags located in the driver and passenger seats would, and even then, only at a certain spped and impact.Was anybody in your car seriously hurt? What were your damages other than the car which I'm assuming was insured.  If you want to sue, go ahead. Hope you get an honest lawyer.  

Answer 4

Questions: 1. Were you making any illegal manuvers when you were hit?

2. Was your inspection sticker up to date when you were hit?

Answer 5

if someone smashes into you door and the side bag doesn't deploy then you have a problem there, don't let anyone convince you otherwise. Shame on these yahooers know-it-all.

Answer 6

Just because you go hit doesn't mean that they will, or should, deploy. There are a number of factors needed to make them go off including: your speed, the direction of impact, and exactly where your car got hit. Many times an airbag deploying at the wrong time does more damage then good. My guess is that your car's computer did not let the bag go off. The only way you are going to know for sure is to get the information on when it should have deployed from Benz then go from there.  

Answer 7

Then the air bags were not needed.

When the air bags deploy they do so very quickly. The time from crash to full deployment is about 0.05 seconds.

Therefore, if the air bag deploys in an improper situation - they cause more harm than they prevent.

Most cars have an air bag control module under the drivers seat. You will sometimes hear this referred to as the car's "black box". There are sensors in the front of the car.

When you have an event- the sensors send the information to the air bag control module and it decides if this situation calls for deployment.

In your situation -- the air bag system decided "no".

So- what causes an air bag to deploy?

Air bags are triggered by the rapid deceleration of the vehicle. That means-- the sudden stop. As you were already slowing down - (now remember -in about 1/2 of a second - the sensors pick up the event- send the message to the control module - the module decides to deploy - the signal is sent to the air bags - they fill with gas and inflate fully.

As you were already slowing down - there was not the sudden deceleration that was needed to trigger the air bag. Usually front impacts are what trigger air bag deployment. Most likely - in your situation the air bag would have caused more injury to you by deploying that it would have prevented. (And since you've not mentioned any injury to your face/head from hitting the steering wheel or dash - the air bag control module made the right decision).

Now - the reason the air bag control module is called the "black box": When the air bag control module senses an event - it captures data about what is happening with the car. The data captured depends on the manufacturer. It will give things like - the speed your vehicle is traveling, pressure on the gas, pressure on the brake etc.

Now- a person with the right equipment can plug into your air bag control module - capture the data and use certain programs to translate that data into an understandable format.  That data will remain in the airbag control module for a very long time but will eventually get over ridden.

In the event of an air bag deployment - that data gets captured and cannot be over written.

Now-- there is another safety system in your car that works in conjunction with the air bag.

That's the seat belt.

Seat belts have pre-tensioners in them. When you have a sudden deceleration - your body goes back then forward. As you start to come forward - the pre-pensioners in the seat belt fire. This causes the seat belt to lock down and hold you in your seat. This is to prevent you from doing a face plant into the air bag, which is whizzing at your head in about 0.02 seconds (that's very fast).

Air bags are not soft gentle items. That's why children should not ride shotgun -- an air bag deployment can cause very serious injuries to them -even when the air bag deploys in the appropriate situation.

In short-- do you have a case against BMW?  

No.  

(at least not in my opinion)

Answer 8

If your car has side airbags and you get hit from the side then my reasoning is that they should be deployed.

So if I were you I'd look into it a bit more, but it sure makes sense that they should go off.

Answer 9

No, you cannot sue. The airbag will only deploy when the force vectors are from certain angles, A side impact will not deploy them because they will not do any good in a side impact. And considering it can cost thousands of dollars to put in new air bags, you do not want them going off unnecessarily.

The car maker specifically says the airbags are a secondary restraint system and they are not guaranteed to go off every time the car is hit, nor are they guaranteed to save your life or keep you from getting hurt..