When an airbag did not deploy in accident claim situation arises, victims often assume they have no recourse because the safety system simply did not work. In fact, non-deployment may be evidence of a product defect that gives rise to a separate claim, on top of any standard negligence claim against the at-fault driver. Understanding both airbag-caused injuries and non-deployment claims is essential to recovering what you are owed after a serious Illinois crash.
This article provides general legal information; consult a licensed Illinois attorney for advice specific to your situation.
Federal Standards Govern When Airbags Must Deploy
Airbag deployment is not required in every crash. Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208, codified at 49 CFR 571.208, sets the occupant crash protection requirements that vehicle manufacturers must meet. Under FMVSS 208, frontal airbags are generally designed to deploy in moderate-to-severe frontal and near-frontal impacts, typically when closing speeds and crash severity exceed specified thresholds. The standard allows manufacturers latitude in calibrating deployment algorithms, which means a crash that feels severe to an occupant may fall below the threshold at which the restraint system was engineered to deploy. However, when a crash clearly exceeds those thresholds and the airbag does not fire, the gap between what FMVSS 208 requires and what occurred in your vehicle becomes the central question in a product liability claim. Expert analysis of the event data recorder (EDR) and the restraint control module is essential to establish that gap.
Illinois’s Strict Liability Standard, and Where It Came From
Illinois product liability law traces directly back to a single, foundational Illinois Supreme Court decision: Suvada v. White Motor Co., 32 Ill. 2d 612 (1965), which first adopted strict liability for defective products in Illinois, eliminating the older requirement that an injured person prove a direct contractual relationship (privity) with the manufacturer before recovering. Under the strict liability framework Suvada established and Illinois courts still apply, an injured claimant does not need to prove the manufacturer was careless or negligent; the claimant needs to show the product had a condition that made it unreasonably dangerous, that the condition existed when the product left the manufacturer’s control, and that the condition caused the injury. This is a meaningfully lower bar than an ordinary negligence claim, and it is the reason an airbag non-deployment case is analyzed differently from, and often alongside, the ordinary negligence claim against the driver who caused the crash.
Injuries Caused by Airbag Deployment
Airbags save lives, but they can also cause significant injuries, particularly when an occupant is out of position, the seat is too close to the dashboard, or when a recalled inflator is involved. Common airbag-deployment injuries include facial abrasions and lacerations from the bag surface, eye injuries from the inflation blast, hearing damage from the deployment noise, and chemical burns from the propellant gases released during inflation. Certain Takata-brand inflators, subject to the largest automotive recall in U.S. history, were found to rupture and project metal fragments, causing fatal and serious injuries. NHTSA’s recall and defect investigation database at NHTSA.dot.gov lists open and closed investigations by make, model, and model year. If your vehicle falls under an open recall and you were not notified, that failure to notify is itself relevant to your claim.
Non-Deployment Claims: Preserving the Vehicle Is Critical
If your airbag failed to deploy in a crash that should have triggered it, the vehicle is now the primary piece of evidence in your product liability case. This is the same evidence-preservation principle that applies in car fire cases and other product defect scenarios: the vehicle must not be repaired, returned to a dealership or insurer, sold, or otherwise transferred until your attorney has arranged for a qualified accident reconstruction and product liability expert to inspect it. The restraint control module and EDR in modern vehicles record pre-crash speed, braking input, and sensor data, information that can confirm whether the crash met the deployment threshold. Once the vehicle is repaired or destroyed, that data may be unrecoverable. Send a written litigation hold notice to every party with custody of the vehicle immediately after the crash.
The Deadline Trap Unique to Product Cases: Statute of Repose
A product liability claim in Illinois carries a second, harder deadline that has nothing to do with when you were injured. In addition to the ordinary two-year personal injury statute of limitations, Illinois imposes a strict products-liability statute of repose under 735 ILCS 5/13-213: a strict-liability claim generally must be filed within 12 years of the product’s first sale, lease, or delivery by the seller, or within 10 years of its first delivery to the initial user or consumer, whichever expires first. Unlike a statute of limitations, a statute of repose is not extended by when you discovered the injury; it runs from the product’s original sale date regardless. This matters directly in airbag cases because vehicles remain on the road, and in crashes, for well over a decade. A defect claim involving an older vehicle needs its repose-period math checked early, since a strong claim on the merits can still be time-barred if the vehicle’s age has quietly run out the repose clock, a limited number of exceptions exist, including where the manufacturer expressly warranted the product for a longer period.
Who Can Be Held Liable in Airbag Defect Cases
Airbag defect claims in Illinois are brought under products liability theory, which can reach multiple parties in the supply chain. The vehicle manufacturer, the airbag system supplier, and, in cases involving recalled components, potentially the dealership that performed or failed to perform the recall repair, may all bear responsibility. These car accident types in Chicago overlap with product liability law in ways that require expert testimony to establish the defect, causation, and damages. Illinois applies strict liability to product defect claims under the framework Suvada established, meaning you do not need to prove the manufacturer was negligent, only that the product was unreasonably dangerous and caused your injury. That said, collecting the technical evidence to prove the defect still requires early, coordinated action.
A Realistic Example
Hypothetical, for illustration only: A Chicago driver is involved in a moderate-speed frontal collision that deploys the driver-side airbag but not the front-passenger airbag, despite a passenger seated in that seat at the time of impact. EDR data preserved shortly after the crash confirms the impact met FMVSS 208’s deployment thresholds for both positions. The passenger’s attorney retains an accident-reconstruction and restraint-systems expert who identifies a fault in the passenger-side occupant classification sensor, the system responsible for detecting whether the seat is occupied and by whom, as the likely cause of non-deployment. Because the vehicle was nine years old at the time of the crash, well within the statute of repose window, the claim proceeds against the manufacturer under Illinois’s strict liability framework, alongside the ordinary negligence claim against the driver who caused the underlying collision.
Steps to Take After an Airbag Injury or Non-Deployment
Seek emergency medical care first. Eye injuries, hearing damage, and chemical burns from airbag propellant all require prompt evaluation. Photograph your injuries, the deployed or non-deployed airbag, the dashboard, and the full vehicle exterior before anything is moved or cleaned. Document the VIN, which your attorney will use to search the NHTSA recall database. If your vehicle is towed, confirm its location and notify your attorney immediately so a hold can be placed before the insurer or tow company moves to auction or salvage it. Under Illinois law, you generally have two years from the date of the crash to file a personal injury or product liability claim (735 ILCS 5/13-202), subject to the separate statute-of-repose ceiling described above, but preserving physical evidence is time-sensitive in ways that make waiting dangerous regardless of which deadline technically governs.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does my case need both a negligence claim against the driver and a product liability claim against the manufacturer?
Often yes, and they proceed as separate but related theories. The driver’s negligence caused the crash; the manufacturer’s defect, if proven, caused injuries beyond what a properly functioning restraint system would have allowed. Both can be pursued in the same case against different defendants.
What if the vehicle is older than 12 years?
The strict-liability statute of repose may bar a pure product-defect claim, though narrow exceptions exist, including an express warranty period longer than the standard repose window. An attorney needs to check the vehicle’s actual first-sale date, not just its model year, since those can differ by a year or more.
How is a recall different from a product liability lawsuit?
A recall is a manufacturer or NHTSA-initiated safety correction, offered free of charge, that exists independently of any lawsuit. A product liability claim is a separate legal action for compensation tied to an injury a defect actually caused; being subject to an open recall you never received notice of, or a recall repair that was never actually performed, is strong supporting evidence in that separate legal claim.
Talk to a Chicago Attorney, Free Consultation
Airbag injury and non-deployment claims require fast action to preserve vehicle evidence, expert analysis of EDR data, and a clear understanding of both FMVSS 208 standards and Illinois product liability law. Phillips Law Offices works with accident reconstruction and product liability experts to evaluate these claims throughout the Chicago area. Call us at (312) 346-4262 or visit our contact page to schedule a free consultation. Attorney review of your specific facts is required before any legal advice can be given.
Related guides on collision types and fault
- Start here: Intersection Accidents in Chicago: Red Light, Stop Sign & Right-of-Way Claims
- Rear-End Collision Claims in Illinois: Proving Fault & Damages
- Side‑Swipe & Unsafe Lane‑Change Crashes in Chicago: Evidence and Fault Basics
- Head-On and Wrong-Way Driver Crashes in Chicago
- Multi‑Vehicle Pileups on Chicago Expressways: Chain‑Reaction Fault and Claims
Talk to a Chicago car accident lawyer. Phillips Law Offices offers a free case review, and there is no fee unless we recover for you. Call (312) 346-4262 or request a free case review.
This article is general information about Illinois law, not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Illinois law changes; confirm anything you intend to rely on with a licensed Illinois attorney.