The Impact of Exploding Airbags on Vision and Eye Health

Airbags are meant to inflate and deploy, not explode. The deployment is what saves lives. The explosion, on the other hand, can cause serious injuries or even claim the same lives these safety devices are designed to save.

Eye injuries are among the most common types of injuries caused by defective airbags. That’s because drivers and passengers sit facing these devices with the hopes that they'll provide the much-needed cushioning in the event of a crash.

Suppose you or your beloved has been injured by an exploding airbag. Chances are, someone knew about this risk but didn’t warn you about it. Instead, they chose profits over your safety.

Common Eye Injuries Caused by Exploding Airbags  

Below, we’ll briefly discuss some common eye injuries caused by exploding airbags and how they can impact your health.

Corneal Abrasions and Scratches

The cornea is the clear front layer of the eye. When scratched or damaged, that injury alone can lead to serious eye health complications.

During an airbag explosion, this type of injury is usually caused by debris, powder, or fragments expelled from the airbag. It’s worth mentioning that airbags deploy at speeds of about 200 miles per hour.

For perspective of how fast that is, it’s like having a Dodge Viper coming to you at full speed. The intense force from the deployed airbags can drive shrapnel into the eye, scraping the cornea and causing significant discomfort.

Some common symptoms of this type of eye injury include:

• Pain
• Redness
• Swelling
• Sensitivity to light
• Gritty feeling in the eye

If particles remain embedded in the eye, they can worsen the injury and increase the risk of infection, or even worse, a permanent loss of vision.

Retinal Detachment

The retina is the layer of tissue that’s usually found at the back of the eye. Retinal detachment, therefore, is when this tissue pulls away from its normal position.

The blunt force from an airbag explosion can cause sudden trauma to the eye, leading to this detachment. This condition isn’t usually painful, but you shouldn’t ignore it.

That’s because fluid can seep underneath when the retina is torn. Then, you’ll begin to see flashes of light. Things could become serious if blood leaks into the vitreous, causing a condition called vitreous hemorrhage.

If not addressed, you may develop retina tears, vision loss, and ghost cell glaucoma, among other eye problems.

Chemical Burns  

Airbags use a combination of gases and chemical compounds to deploy. When these chemicals make contact with the eyes, they can cause serious injuries.

Chemical burns are especially dangerous because they can penetrate the cornea and reach deeper eye structures. If not promptly removed from the eye, the chemical compounds can even damage the sclera and inner eye tissues.

Blunt Trauma

We’ve seen that exploding airbags exert intense force. When they hit the face, they can damage the orbital bones around the eye.

Some common signs of this type of injury include:

• Pain
• Bruising
• Swelling
• Double vision.  

There have been cases where eye fractures have caused secondary issues like trapped eye muscles. This problem, in particular, restricts eye movement and causes double vision.

Vision Loss  

The eye is a very delicate organ. Even a change in air quality is enough to cause irritation. Now you can imagine the kind of damage chemical exposure, corneal abrasions, retinal detachment, and blunt trauma from an exploding airbag can cause.

Some of these injuries may heal over time, but others, especially those involving deep tissue damage or untreated infections, can cause irreversible damage to eyesight.

How Eye Damage Can Impact Your Life

Any form of damage to your eye severely can turn your life upside down. Everyday activities, for example, can become difficult or even impossible without assistance.

Adjusting to vision loss isn’t easy, either. In more serious cases, you may require rehabilitation, adaptive devices, or lifestyle modifications.

Keep in mind that these treatments are usually very expensive. Several studies have found that standard eye treatment in the United States costs between $1,500 to $3,500 per eye. That’s just the standard treatment, not the cost of emergency surgeries or advanced care you or a loved one might need. 

How Morgan and Morgan Can Fight for You

At Morgan and Morgan, we know for a fact that there are some companies out there with a solid history of putting profits over human lives. Take Takata, a popular airbag manufacturer, as an example.

Court records have shown that the company knew about its defective airbags but didn’t stop them from being distributed to various vehicle manufacturers. Even worse, the vehicle manufacturers also knew about these defects.

Their solution? Manufacturing even more vehicles with these defective airbags. Clearly, that was a disaster waiting to happen. True to the word, it didn’t take too long.

At the time of writing, exploding airbags have killed more than 28 people in the US and injured at least 400. These deaths and injuries were avoidable. But as people died and many others walked away with life-changing injuries, these companies made billions of dollars in profits. 

Now is the time to hold them accountable and force them to do the right thing. That’s where we come in as the nation’s largest injury firm. Our defective airbag attorneys boast years of experience fighting big companies and corporations that harm innocent people with their products. 

We know these companies are usually armed with a team of defense lawyers to protect their selfish interests. But nothing motivates us to fight harder than seeing our clients feel whole again. When it comes to fighting, we just don’t stop until the other party agrees to do the right thing. We can fight on the negotiating table or even in court if they refuse to settle. 

To get started, please fill out our free case review form today. We might be able to represent you for free unless we win.