Air bags failed to deploy in accident

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YeahBuddy
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Air bags failed to deploy in accident

Post by YeahBuddy »

My father in law was recently involved in an at fault automobile collision in his 2011 Chevy Silverado 1500 in which he struck another vehicle and his airbags did not deploy. This resulted in trauma to both driver and passenger's chests, particularly the driver as he struck the steering wheel with some force. He and the passenger were transferred to a local emergency room and luckily neither were seriously injured beyond some internal bruising. Two weeks later, they are both still in pain but no loss of income, etc. As far as medical bills, we have not received any yet. The truck is probably a total loss.

I reached out to the auto maker (I am assisting him as he does not speak English well enough for these intricate details) to notify Chevy/GM about the situation. GM stated they would send out a rep to inspect the truck. There was no response for a week so I followed up. There was no return call. Paperwork was emailed to me from the rep handling this case indicating the inspector would obtain information from the on board computers as to vehicle speed, throttle position, etc and an authorization for use and/or disclosure of confidential medical information form was included.

While we are not seeking to take legal action, as I don't see a huge loss here, this paperwork also made us question motives. Is this part of the manufacturer's normal process or may there be a bigger problem here? Should we seek legal counsel or just sign the paperwork to get the vehicle looked at by Chevy/GM? Should I just reach out to the rep asking about the paperwork?

Thanks for any help.
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StevieG72
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Re: Air bags failed to deploy in accident

Post by StevieG72 »

Meh....

Seems pretty standard, they want to have all the information which includes injuries to occupants. Nothing sounds fishy to me.
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dukeblue219
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Re: Air bags failed to deploy in accident

Post by dukeblue219 »

Get a lawyer before you post anything specific on here or speak to the manufacturer again. Even if you don't proceed with a case you should assume the manufacturer is absolutely going to serve only their own interest.

I am not a lawyer nor am I litigious but if it was me, Id want to proceed carefully.
Californiastate
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Re: Air bags failed to deploy in accident

Post by Californiastate »

How fast was the vehicle at impact? When was the vehicle last serviced? Were there any error codes prior to the accident? Was the vehicle in a previous accident? Are they the original airbags? Has the vehicle been modified at all? I can think of a lot more but I'm sure the manufacturers lawyers have their own list.
Last edited by Californiastate on Mon Oct 25, 2021 6:56 pm, edited 1 time in total.
dukeblue219
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Re: Air bags failed to deploy in accident

Post by dukeblue219 »

Californiastate wrote: Mon Oct 25, 2021 6:51 pm How fast was the vehicle at impact? They don't deploy during a low speed impact.
They have to deploy at 14mph and given the description of trauma, hospitalization, and totalled cars I'm guessing higher. But, fair point. I'm just not sure I'd (as OP) provide that information on the public internet...
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ResearchMed
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Re: Air bags failed to deploy in accident

Post by ResearchMed »

dukeblue219 wrote: Mon Oct 25, 2021 6:45 pm Get a lawyer before you post anything specific on here or speak to the manufacturer again. Even if you don't proceed with a case you should assume the manufacturer is absolutely going to serve only their own interest.

I am not a lawyer nor am I litigious but if it was me, Id want to proceed carefully.
[emphasis added]

Please REMOVE all identifying info, such as model/year of vehicle, and even number of passengers just in case there ends up with some legal issues.

Make your post NOT identifiable. Not even manufacturer.
Maybe obscure some details as well.

Glad all are reasonably well!

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stan1
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Re: Air bags failed to deploy in accident

Post by stan1 »

The manufacturer is going to assume you are preparing litigation, not being a good Samaritan.
They don't really have a choice other than that.
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Stinky
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Re: Air bags failed to deploy in accident

Post by Stinky »

RobLyons wrote: Mon Oct 25, 2021 6:40 pm
While we are not seeking to take legal action .....
I think that I would at least talk with a personal injury attorney. You may have a legal case if the occupants were deemed to have suffered injuries due to the airbags not deploying when they should have.

The PI attorneys in our area advertise that you don't pay for their services if they don't win, so it seems like a no-brainer to at least talk to an attorney.
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Trader Joe
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Re: Air bags failed to deploy in accident

Post by Trader Joe »

RobLyons wrote: Mon Oct 25, 2021 6:40 pm My father in law was recently involved in an at fault automobile collision in his 2011 Chevy Silverado 1500 in which he struck another vehicle and his airbags did not deploy. This resulted in trauma to both driver and passenger's chests, particularly the driver as he struck the steering wheel with some force. He and the passenger were transferred to a local emergency room and luckily neither were seriously injured beyond some internal bruising. Two weeks later, they are both still in pain but no loss of income, etc. As far as medical bills, we have not received any yet. The truck is probably a total loss.

I reached out to the auto maker (I am assisting him as he does not speak English well enough for these intricate details) to notify Chevy/GM about the situation. GM stated they would send out a rep to inspect the truck. There was no response for a week so I followed up. There was no return call. Paperwork was emailed to me from the rep handling this case indicating the inspector would obtain information from the on board computers as to vehicle speed, throttle position, etc and an authorization for use and/or disclosure of confidential medical information form was included.

While we are not seeking to take legal action, as I don't see a huge loss here, this paperwork also made us question motives. Is this part of the manufacturer's normal process or may there be a bigger problem here? Should we seek legal counsel or just sign the paperwork to get the vehicle looked at by Chevy/GM? Should I just reach out to the rep asking about the paperwork?

Thanks for any help.
Your father-in-law struck another vehicle. What happened to the passenger(s) in that vehicle?

Also, did their airbags deploy?
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burritoLover
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Re: Air bags failed to deploy in accident

Post by burritoLover »

Not wearing seat belts?
hicabob
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Re: Air bags failed to deploy in accident

Post by hicabob »

Perhaps the g-forces were not great enough for an airbag deployment? People should wear seat-belts too ... as required by law.
Normchad
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Re: Air bags failed to deploy in accident

Post by Normchad »

You should report this to NHTSA.

Did he own the truck since new? Some unscrupulous people resell cars that have been in accidents but don’t replace the airbags….

And was he wearing a seatbelt. Some systems won’t deploy in not-horrible accidents for unbelted occupants I think.
dukeblue219
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Re: Air bags failed to deploy in accident

Post by dukeblue219 »

OP please think carefully before answering the seat belt questions.

You are not anonymous here.
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obafgkm
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Re: Air bags failed to deploy in accident

Post by obafgkm »

Thirteen posts and "insurance" (as in automobile insurance) hasn't been mentioned yet. What did the original poster's father-in-law's car insurance company say about all this?
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Topic Author
YeahBuddy
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Re: Air bags failed to deploy in accident

Post by YeahBuddy »

obafgkm wrote: Mon Oct 25, 2021 9:57 pm Thirteen posts and "insurance" (as in automobile insurance) hasn't been mentioned yet. What did the original poster's father-in-law's car insurance company say about all this?

Nothing, yet...
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YeahBuddy
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Re: Air bags failed to deploy in accident

Post by YeahBuddy »

Stinky wrote: Mon Oct 25, 2021 7:00 pm
RobLyons wrote: Mon Oct 25, 2021 6:40 pm
While we are not seeking to take legal action .....
I think that I would at least talk with a personal injury attorney. You may have a legal case if the occupants were deemed to have suffered injuries due to the airbags not deploying when they should have.

The PI attorneys in our area advertise that you don't pay for their services if they don't win, so it seems like a no-brainer to at least talk to an attorney.

Talked with a local PI lawyer today. As I suspected, it's not worth it to be litigious in this situation. Hiring an expert to investigate the air bag non deployment, when injuries are not serious and my father in law was at fault, isn't worth it. I don't think we will release his medical information and if that's the sticking point to them evaluating the truck, we may never know if the airbags were faulty or not.
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Ramjet
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Re: Air bags failed to deploy in accident

Post by Ramjet »

Totaled my Corolla on the highway going 70 when a 12 point buck crossed two lanes of traffic and a median to jump in front of me, the air bags did not deploy. The deer simply did not hit the car in the right spot (hood instead of bumper)
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Stinky
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Re: Air bags failed to deploy in accident

Post by Stinky »

RobLyons wrote: Tue Oct 26, 2021 1:42 pm
Stinky wrote: Mon Oct 25, 2021 7:00 pm
RobLyons wrote: Mon Oct 25, 2021 6:40 pm
While we are not seeking to take legal action .....
I think that I would at least talk with a personal injury attorney. You may have a legal case if the occupants were deemed to have suffered injuries due to the airbags not deploying when they should have.

The PI attorneys in our area advertise that you don't pay for their services if they don't win, so it seems like a no-brainer to at least talk to an attorney.

Talked with a local PI lawyer today. As I suspected, it's not worth it to be litigious in this situation. Hiring an expert to investigate the air bag non deployment, when injuries are not serious and my father in law was at fault, isn't worth it. I don't think we will release his medical information and if that's the sticking point to them evaluating the truck, we may never know if the airbags were faulty or not.
It sounds like you’re following a very rational path.
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ResearchMed
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Re: Air bags failed to deploy in accident

Post by ResearchMed »

Ramjet wrote: Tue Oct 26, 2021 1:42 pm Totaled my Corolla on the highway going 70 when a 12 point buck crossed two lanes of traffic and a median to jump in front of me, the air bags did not deploy. The deer simply did not hit the car in the right spot (hood instead of bumper)
Yikes.

I'm very glad you are still 'here" to tell us about this!
Good thing it didn't directly hit the windshield...

RM
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PVW
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Re: Air bags failed to deploy in accident

Post by PVW »

Normchad wrote: Mon Oct 25, 2021 8:07 pm
Did he own the truck since new? Some unscrupulous people resell cars that have been in accidents but don’t replace the airbags….
My first thought as well. If the occupants were wearing their seat belts and they did not activate, this is a strong indication the seat belts and possibly airbags were disabled due to activation during a prior accident.
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burritoLover
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Re: Air bags failed to deploy in accident

Post by burritoLover »

RobLyons wrote: Tue Oct 26, 2021 1:42 pm
Stinky wrote: Mon Oct 25, 2021 7:00 pm
RobLyons wrote: Mon Oct 25, 2021 6:40 pm
While we are not seeking to take legal action .....
I think that I would at least talk with a personal injury attorney. You may have a legal case if the occupants were deemed to have suffered injuries due to the airbags not deploying when they should have.

The PI attorneys in our area advertise that you don't pay for their services if they don't win, so it seems like a no-brainer to at least talk to an attorney.

Talked with a local PI lawyer today. As I suspected, it's not worth it to be litigious in this situation. Hiring an expert to investigate the air bag non deployment, when injuries are not serious and my father in law was at fault, isn't worth it. I don't think we will release his medical information and if that's the sticking point to them evaluating the truck, we may never know if the airbags were faulty or not.
So were they wearing seatbelts?
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Re: Air bags failed to deploy in accident

Post by Ramjet »

ResearchMed wrote: Tue Oct 26, 2021 2:06 pm
Ramjet wrote: Tue Oct 26, 2021 1:42 pm Totaled my Corolla on the highway going 70 when a 12 point buck crossed two lanes of traffic and a median to jump in front of me, the air bags did not deploy. The deer simply did not hit the car in the right spot (hood instead of bumper)
Yikes.

I'm very glad you are still 'here" to tell us about this!
Good thing it didn't directly hit the windshield...

RM
I appreciate that. Scary stuff. The hood flew up onto the windshield and all vision of the road was lost, but I somehow was able to pull over and stop without causing an accident. Thank goodness nobody was hurt
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Re: Air bags failed to deploy in accident

Post by hicabob »

Airbag sensors are g-force sensors . Hitting a deer would probably not decelerate the car enough to set it off. After all, a person wouldn't want braking as hard as possible to set them off!
This youtube vid shows a couple designs. Interesting if you like that sort of stuff.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mWSlwhY ... speedkar99
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Re: Air bags failed to deploy in accident

Post by miket29 »

Ramjet wrote: Tue Oct 26, 2021 1:42 pm Totaled my Corolla on the highway going 70 when a 12 point buck crossed two lanes of traffic and a median to jump in front of me, the air bags did not deploy. The deer simply did not hit the car in the right spot (hood instead of bumper)
And probably an uninsured deer to boot ;-)
bgvg
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Re: Air bags failed to deploy in accident

Post by bgvg »

You should report this to NHTSA:

https://www.nhtsa.gov/report-a-safety-problem
MHA556
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Re: Air bags failed to deploy in accident

Post by MHA556 »

There is a whole lot more to this beyond thinking that something went wrong just because the A/B did not deploy. I am willing to bet the system worked correctly. They are pretty robust and are designed to last. (Now if you had a chop shop repair place rebuild it after a prior crash, all bets are off...)

I investigated a lot of crashes, and have looked at a lot of sensor data.

It isn’t uncommon for an A/B to not deploy, even if the other vehicle’s did.

Direction of the impact, location of contact, speed, etc, are all factors in the computer deciding to fire off the A/B, or whether to fire off say just a side impact bag, but not the front.

You might have an actionable lawsuit potential if say the particular make and model of vehicle has a high failure rate for their A/B system. You can look this up on the recall lists and automotive complaint websites to find out if this is maybe an issue.

And I believe some A/B sensors are still located in parts of the vehicle, they are not just all g force sensors (I think). This means you can have a crash that caused serious damage but misses the sensor, so it does not activate. Pretty common if someone hits a smaller object or has an offset contact crash.

The download data the car company wants to get will tell a lot about what happened, and why. It should show speeds, whether the brake or accelerator was pressed and to what extent, whether the seat belt tensioners fired, etc. I would let the company download it, provided they give you a copy of the data for you to look at.
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sergeant
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Re: Air bags failed to deploy in accident

Post by sergeant »

MHA556 wrote: Tue Oct 26, 2021 8:04 pm There is a whole lot more to this beyond thinking that something went wrong just because the A/B did not deploy. I am willing to bet the system worked correctly. They are pretty robust and are designed to last. (Now if you had a chop shop repair place rebuild it after a prior crash, all bets are off...)

I investigated a lot of crashes, and have looked at a lot of sensor data.

It isn’t uncommon for an A/B to not deploy, even if the other vehicle’s did.

Direction of the impact, location of contact, speed, etc, are all factors in the computer deciding to fire off the A/B, or whether to fire off say just a side impact bag, but not the front.

You might have an actionable lawsuit potential if say the particular make and model of vehicle has a high failure rate for their A/B system. You can look this up on the recall lists and automotive complaint websites to find out if this is maybe an issue.

And I believe some A/B sensors are still located in parts of the vehicle, they are not just all g force sensors (I think). This means you can have a crash that caused serious damage but misses the sensor, so it does not activate. Pretty common if someone hits a smaller object or has an offset contact crash.

The download data the car company wants to get will tell a lot about what happened, and why. It should show speeds, whether the brake or accelerator was pressed and to what extent, whether the seat belt tensioners fired, etc. I would let the company download it, provided they give you a copy of the data for you to look at.
+1- From a former traffic accident reconstructionist.
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ronno2018
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Re: Air bags failed to deploy in accident

Post by ronno2018 »

I am happy your friends and family got good emergency care and are OK.

https://youtu.be/uz7PNNwCO9E

Move on dude. Make sure they are in a safe replacement car.

In fact maybe they can move to a nice walkable neighborhood and buy some electric bikes.

The planet will thank you.
an_asker
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Re: Air bags failed to deploy in accident

Post by an_asker »

Ramjet wrote: Tue Oct 26, 2021 1:42 pm Totaled my Corolla on the highway going 70 when a 12 point buck crossed two lanes of traffic and a median to jump in front of me, the air bags did not deploy. The deer simply did not hit the car in the right spot (hood instead of bumper)
Wow! This exact thing happened to us (in a rental car) as well. On I-5 in CA, no less. Fortunately for us, when the buck landed on the hood, the airbags deployed.
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YeahBuddy
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Re: Air bags failed to deploy in accident

Post by YeahBuddy »

burritoLover wrote: Tue Oct 26, 2021 2:10 pm
RobLyons wrote: Tue Oct 26, 2021 1:42 pm
Stinky wrote: Mon Oct 25, 2021 7:00 pm
RobLyons wrote: Mon Oct 25, 2021 6:40 pm
While we are not seeking to take legal action .....
I think that I would at least talk with a personal injury attorney. You may have a legal case if the occupants were deemed to have suffered injuries due to the airbags not deploying when they should have.

The PI attorneys in our area advertise that you don't pay for their services if they don't win, so it seems like a no-brainer to at least talk to an attorney.

Talked with a local PI lawyer today. As I suspected, it's not worth it to be litigious in this situation. Hiring an expert to investigate the air bag non deployment, when injuries are not serious and my father in law was at fault, isn't worth it. I don't think we will release his medical information and if that's the sticking point to them evaluating the truck, we may never know if the airbags were faulty or not.
So were they wearing seatbelts?

Yes.
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Topic Author
YeahBuddy
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Re: Air bags failed to deploy in accident

Post by YeahBuddy »

ronno2018 wrote: Tue Oct 26, 2021 10:27 pm I am happy your friends and family got good emergency care and are OK.

https://youtu.be/uz7PNNwCO9E

Move on dude. Make sure they are in a safe replacement car.

In fact maybe they can move to a nice walkable neighborhood and buy some electric bikes.

The planet will thank you.

Yup I'm already researching his next vehicle for him (bad time to buy)

I'd say zero chance of moving to a walkable neighborhood and buying electric bikes but it's a nice thought.
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rjbraun
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Re: Air bags failed to deploy in accident

Post by rjbraun »

https://www.autosafety.org/about-cas/

Contact the Center for Auto Safety. They are a non-profit consumer advocacy organization founded by Consumers Union and Ralph Nader in 1970. I worked as a volunteer there many years ago. They were also very helpful to a family member a few years ago who ended up with a "lemon".
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burritoLover
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Re: Air bags failed to deploy in accident

Post by burritoLover »

RobLyons wrote: Wed Oct 27, 2021 6:53 am
burritoLover wrote: Tue Oct 26, 2021 2:10 pm
RobLyons wrote: Tue Oct 26, 2021 1:42 pm
Stinky wrote: Mon Oct 25, 2021 7:00 pm
RobLyons wrote: Mon Oct 25, 2021 6:40 pm
While we are not seeking to take legal action .....
I think that I would at least talk with a personal injury attorney. You may have a legal case if the occupants were deemed to have suffered injuries due to the airbags not deploying when they should have.

The PI attorneys in our area advertise that you don't pay for their services if they don't win, so it seems like a no-brainer to at least talk to an attorney.

Talked with a local PI lawyer today. As I suspected, it's not worth it to be litigious in this situation. Hiring an expert to investigate the air bag non deployment, when injuries are not serious and my father in law was at fault, isn't worth it. I don't think we will release his medical information and if that's the sticking point to them evaluating the truck, we may never know if the airbags were faulty or not.
So were they wearing seatbelts?

Yes.
Understood. GM has always lagged in safety. Then they had that ignition switch issue that they tried to avoid fixing that ended up killing people.
JDave
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Re: Air bags failed to deploy in accident

Post by JDave »

Were he and the passenger wearing seat belts?
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YeahBuddy
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Re: Air bags failed to deploy in accident

Post by YeahBuddy »

JDave wrote: Wed Oct 27, 2021 8:47 am Were he and the passenger wearing seat belts?

Yes

And update for the thread, the GM expert inspected the vehicle without us filling out the "request for medical information" forms as my father in law did not want to release his information. Hoping the truck is not totaled and we can get it fixed, newer trucks are expensive in this market and he's retired on a limited income!
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