Airbags are not designed to deploy in every crash, so a non-deployment is not automatically a defect. But if the crash was a moderate to severe frontal impact and the airbag failed, the vehicle maker may share responsibility under Texas products liability law, and the evidence must be preserved now.
Frontal airbags are engineered for specific crashes. Federal regulators at NHTSA have explained that frontal airbags are designed to deploy in moderate to severe frontal crashes and are not designed to deploy in side, rear, or rollover crashes or in low-speed frontal impacts. Side curtain and seat airbags have their own deployment logic.
When an airbag should have deployed and did not, or deployed when it should not have, or deployed with too much force, the claim can extend beyond the other driver. Texas products liability law in Chapter 82 of the Civil Practice and Remedies Code governs claims against manufacturers and sellers. For a design defect, Civil Practice and Remedies Code section 82.005 requires proof of a safer alternative design that would have prevented or significantly reduced the injury.
The vehicle is the evidence. The airbag control module records crash data such as speed and braking. Texas Transportation Code section 547.615 limits who can retrieve that recorded data without the owner's consent, which protects you but also means the car must be kept, not sold for salvage or crushed at the insurer's yard. Ask that the car be held until it can be inspected.
Timing matters in a second way. Texas sets a 15-year statute of repose for most products liability claims, measured from the date the product was sold, under Civil Practice and Remedies Code section 16.012, in addition to the usual two-year limitations period. Check for open recalls on the vehicle using its VIN.
These cases usually run alongside the claim against the at-fault driver, whose fault still matters. Owsley Law Firm moves quickly to preserve the vehicle and its data and charges no fee unless it wins.
What to do, step by step
- Keep the vehicle. Ask the insurer in writing not to sell or crush it.
- Photograph the interior, the steering wheel, and the dashboard warning lights.
- Check the VIN for open recalls.
- Get a lawyer before anyone downloads the airbag control module data.
Airbags that deploy can injure too. Overly aggressive deployment and defective inflators have caused serious injuries, and those claims follow the same products liability rules.
Sellers that did not make the product are generally protected in Texas unless an exception applies, such as altering the product or controlling its warnings, under Civil Practice and Remedies Code section 82.003. Claims usually focus on the manufacturer.
Expert analysis is central. Engineers examine the module data, the crash forces, and the airbag system to decide whether the system should have deployed.
Mistakes that cost people money
- Letting the insurer take the car to auction before it is inspected.
- Allowing someone without your consent to download the vehicle's crash data.
- Assuming a non-deployment proves a defect without looking at the crash type and forces.
Related questions
Do airbags deploy in rear-end crashes?
Frontal airbags are generally not designed to deploy in rear impacts. Seat and head restraint design matters more in those crashes.
Who owns the crash data in my car?
Under Transportation Code section 547.615, data from a manufacturer-installed recording device generally may not be retrieved by anyone other than the owner without consent or a court order, with limited exceptions.
Is there a deadline for a defect claim?
Yes. The usual two-year limit applies, and Texas also has a 15-year statute of repose for most product claims measured from the sale.
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