Accident

[exalted_one]

A few days ago a cobalt cut my girlfreind off while she was going 40. The car is pretty messed up and she is bruised up but the part that worries us is the airbags did not deploy. Everyone that looked at the car (tow truck company/insurance adjusters/cop) all said that they should have been deployed. Is there anything she can do legally bc the aibags did not deploy? Ill get some pics up tonight or tommerow.

 

[evilmonkeyMSP]

sweet, first the proteges, now the 3's....nice

 

[Butlerg]

o rly??? My protege5 bags never deployed at 40 into a wall.

 

[CX-7owner]

They don't have to deploy, the pretensioner's usually kick in and the sensors sense that the bags don't have a need to deploy, I was in a Sentra going 50 MPH and SMASHED in the back of a corolla, No air bag deployment, and I don't think they would have made much of a difference.

 

[robin2660]

Ah, yes but, if the driver or passenger impacted the steering wheel or dash ....


Robin

 

[Rotary_Powered]

Even if she was going that fast, there probably wasn't a great enough velocity difference between the vehicles to transfer enough energy on impact.

 

[exalted_one]

well there was a good bit of force cause it pushed the other car about 7 ft and over a curb. the problem is she fractured her kneecap on the dash. and has bad swelling in her abdamon (sp?) from the seat belt.

 

[CX-7owner]

Yeah, thats the damn pretensioner, when I was in that other accident my chest hurt for weeks.

 

[CX-7owner]

But we need PIXXXX and Interior pix to see the intrusion to the passenger cell.

 

[niky]

IMHO, good seatbelts and pre-tensioners > airbags.

She got cut off? Then it was a glancing frontal blow? According to our owner's manuals, the frontal airbags won't go off unless it's a head-on impact, and even then, the initial acceleration has to be very abrupt and has to hit both the left and right sensors with the same amount of force to trigger the front airbags.

I've seen/been in lots of accidents, and I've only seen one or two where the airbags actually deployed. That's why most manufacturers put airbag warnings and limitiations in their owner's manual. Even if you decide to sue, they'll just point at the relevant clause in the manual and say: "We told you so..."

That is, unless there's a side-impact airbag that's supposed to have gone off?

 

[I vtec do you?]

Is there anything she can do legally bc the aibags did not deploy?

This is what's wrong with America.. everyone is just a lazy ass out to sue for anything they can. Your gf is bruised, but OK, be thankful for that instead of looking for ways to make money off of something.

Airbags only deploy if the severity of the crash is enough. You said yourself she is bruised, but she isn't dead, right? So it sounds like the system is working.. yeah?

 

[Ryz]

I had a steering wheel break off and the airbag blow into my lap. I couldn't sue there's nothing that's gonna come of yours.

 

[fourthmeal]

This is what's wrong with America.. everyone is just a lazy ass out to sue for anything they can. Your gf is bruised, but OK, be thankful for that instead of looking for ways to make money off of something.

Airbags only deploy if the severity of the crash is enough. You said yourself she is bruised, but she isn't dead, right? So it sounds like the system is working.. yeah?

Wrong! What is wrong with America is that nobody believes in accountability. If this happened in other countries, then the wrongdoer would take responsibility for it, and cover the damages and injuries. A fractured ANYTHING is cause for compensation. My wife was hit head-on, and luckily walked away with no more then bruises, nightmares, and some serious fear of it happening again. We were compensated fairly.

In your case, with someone clearly at fault and with injuries, you need to be compensated. And damn it, make sure you are compensated fairly. This is no time to sue for millions, but you should be able to settle for a very fair amount. Personally, I'd rather not bust my knee up then get paid for it. The knees are something that, once hit, seem to never be the same again.

Good luck to you,

 

[CX-7owner]

what kind of car?

 

[I vtec do you?]

Wrong! What is wrong with America is that nobody believes in accountability. If this happened in other countries, then the wrongdoer would take responsibility for it, and cover the damages and injuries. A fractured ANYTHING is cause for compensation. My wife was hit head-on, and luckily walked away with no more then bruises, nightmares, and some serious fear of it happening again. We were compensated fairly.

In your case, with someone clearly at fault and with injuries, you need to be compensated. And damn it, make sure you are compensated fairly. This is no time to sue for millions, but you should be able to settle for a very fair amount. Personally, I'd rather not bust my knee up then get paid for it. The knees are something that, once hit, seem to never be the same again.

Did you even read what the OP said? He wants to sue MAZDA because the airbags didn't deploy. I see how you could get away with a lawsuit against the other driver - they were driving unsafely and someone was hurt, compensation there would be right.

However, he wants to sue because airbags didn't deploy. And sorry to say, that's the most dipshitty thing I've ever heard. He said the car was messed up badly and his gf got a bit bruised up. Be thankful for that.. I'm not sure why you're complaining the airbags didn't go off. There was clearly no need for them. Have you ever had an airbag deploy? I did once, in my old taurus where it just had front air-bags - left a HUGE bruise on my chest along with massive burns. I can't beleive you're (the op) complaining about bruising and wanting legal action taken.

 

[exalted_one]

This is what's wrong with America.. everyone is just a lazy ass out to sue for anything they can. Your gf is bruised, but OK, be thankful for that instead of looking for ways to make money off of something.

Airbags only deploy if the severity of the crash is enough. You said yourself she is bruised, but she isn't dead, right? So it sounds like the system is working.. yeah?

I never said i was going to sue to get rich you are putting words in my mouth.
If the car is not a total Mazda should have to fix the problem. Im not expecting to get rich neither is she, but the reason for having a safety system in the car is for it to work, that could have been 3grand saved off the sticker if it is useless. Im just going by what was told to me by 3 people who see accidents all the time... What do they know anyways? (fu)

 

[exalted_one]

Good luck to you,

Thanks man i may need it because her insurance filed a claim against her. That may just be standard procedure though. Also how long does it normally take for neck and back pains to go away after accident?

 

[knowledge007]

Could be never. Soft tissue injuries are hard to distinguish. Please have her get checked out.

 

[exalted_one]

Did you even read what the OP said? He wants to sue MAZDA because the airbags didn't deploy. I see how you could get away with a lawsuit against the other driver - they were driving unsafely and someone was hurt, compensation there would be right.

I was just considering my options due to the fact I refuse to let her get screwed on someone elses account. Stop being a tool and you might understand, and yes ive been in an accident where an airbag deployed (older 96' camry with the "unsafe airbags") I beileve I was severly less injured beacuse of it and I wrote Toyota a thank you letter afterwards.

 

[exalted_one]

Could be never. Soft tissue injuries are hard to distinguish. Please have her get checked out.

She is getting X-rays and I think they said an MRI soon. Yeah the knee sucks but that is the part I am least worried about.