When you get behind the wheel, you trust that the safety systems in your car will work. Airbags are supposed to save lives, not take them. But when a defective airbag fails to deploy, deploys with too much force, or shoots shrapnel into the cabin, the result can be catastrophic. In the United States, product liability law gives you a way to hold the responsible parties accountable. Here is how that works, stripped of legal jargon.

A defective airbag case falls under product liability, which is the legal principle that a manufacturer, distributor, or seller is responsible for putting a dangerous product into the hands of consumers. There are three broad types of defects that can trigger liability: manufacturing defects, design defects, and failure to warn. Manufacturing defects happen when something goes wrong during production, like a bad weld or a contaminated propellant. Design defects exist from the start, meaning the airbag concept itself is unsafe, even if built perfectly. Failure to warn means the company knew of a risk but did not tell consumers, for example by not instructing owners to replace recalled inflators.

The most infamous example of defective airbags is the Takata recall. Takata manufactured airbag inflators that used ammonium nitrate as a propellant. Over time, exposure to heat and humidity could cause the chemical to degrade and burn too fast. When the airbag deployed, the inflator would explode, sending metal fragments into the vehicle. This defect led to over twenty deaths and hundreds of injuries in the United States alone. The legal claims that followed were not about whether the inflator was bad; they were about who knew what and when. Takata and the automakers that used their parts faced lawsuits based on design defect, manufacturing defect, and failure to warn.

To win a product liability case for a defective airbag, you generally must prove that the airbag was defective when it left the manufacturer’s control and that the defect caused your injury. You do not need to prove the company was careless, at least under a legal theory called strict liability. Strict liability means that if the product is unreasonably dangerous, the manufacturer pays regardless of how careful they were. This is helpful for consumers because it removes the burden of showing negligence. However, you still need to show that you used the airbag in a reasonably foreseeable way, which usually means you were wearing your seatbelt and the crash was of a type that should trigger deployment.

Who can you sue? The main target is the car manufacturer, because they designed and assembled the vehicle. You can also sue the parts supplier that made the airbag system, like Takata or Autoliv. In some cases, the dealership that sold the car might be on the hook if they knew about a recall and did not fix it before the sale. Multiple defendants often share the blame, and the court will apportion fault based on each party’s contribution to the defect.

Defenses exist, and defendants will use them. They may argue that you misused the airbag, for example by sitting too close to the steering wheel or by ignoring a recall notice. They may claim you assumed the risk by modifying the vehicle in a way that interfered with the airbag system. They may also argue that the crash itself was so severe that no airbag could have prevented your injury. In many states, if you were not wearing your seatbelt, the defense can argue that your own negligence reduced your chances of avoiding harm, which can reduce the damages you recover.

If you are injured by a defective airbag, the damages you can claim include medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, and in some cases punitive damages. Punitive damages are designed to punish a company for reckless or intentional misconduct, such as concealing test results showing the inflators were dangerous. The Takata case resulted in huge punitive awards and criminal fines because the company actively hid the defect for years.

The practical takeaway is straightforward. If your airbag fails to deploy or deploys violently, preserve the vehicle exactly as it is. Do not let the manufacturer or the dealer take it for “inspection” without a lawyer present. Document everything, including the date of any recall notices and any repairs you had done. Contact an attorney who handles product liability or personal injury cases and does not charge you unless you win. The law exists to protect you from dangerous products, but it only works if you use it.