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By Jarome Gautreaux
Owner/Partner

Airbags save lives by protecting vehicle occupants during an auto accident. They reduce the likelihood of death or severity of injury by protecting the head, neck and chest from hitting hard surfaces during an auto or truck wreck.

Airbags are designed to deploy under certain crash circumstances, taking into account a vehicle’s speed, the placement of the crash (side, front or rear impact), and in some vehicles, the size of the occupant seated on the front right passenger seat. There have been instances, however, of airbags not deploying as they’re supposed to in certain model vehicles.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Association (NHTSA) is investigating problems with sensors in passenger seats that control the activation of passenger air bags.  In today’s vehicles, many of the advanced front air bag systems on the passenger side have a weight sensor that automatically turns off if it detects that a seated passenger is of a small-stature, is a child, is in a child restraint system, or if there is no-one seated in the right front passenger seat.

Despite an extensive recall of more than one million vehicles, owners continue to complain that weight sensors in certain vehicles have failed, causing passenger air bags to deactivate even when an adult, not of small stature, is seated in the passenger seat.

VEHICLES AFFECTED BY THE RECALL

  • Altima midsize car
  • Leaf electric car
  • Pathfinder SUV
  • Sentra compact models (the 2013 and 2014 model years)
  • NV200 taxi van
  • Infiniti JX35 SUV (from 2013)
  • Infiniti QX60 and Q50 SUVs (from 2014)

If you or a loved one have been involved in an accident and your air bag failed to deploy, please contact us to determine whether a defect in your vehicle caused or contributed to your injuries.  Our firm has investigated and continues to investigate cases involving defective airbags.

About the Author
Jarome Gautreaux is a personal injury trial lawyer. He represents people who have been seriously injured, as well as the families of people killed because of carelessness or negligence. For over 20 years, he has successfully recovered more than 100 million dollars in a variety of Macon personal injury cases. Jarome’s reputation for client focus and case success has led to other lawyers requesting his assistance with complex personal injury litigation. What drives Jarome every day is his strong belief that the amount of money someone has should not dictate the justice they receive. It is for this reason that he has never worked for corporations, insurance companies, or other interest groups. Instead, he thrives on helping the people who need it most- people who have suffered at the hands of others and deserve compensation.