The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports that there are about 3.3 million airbag deployments in the US from 1990 to 2008. More than 6,000 were saved from what would have been a fatal accident and countless lives have been saved from injuries.

It has been marketed once as an alternative safety device for seatbelts during the 70s but there are some dangers involved especially with defective airbags.

1997 saw the most number of fatalities caused by airbag malfunction when there were 53 reported deaths which included 31 children.

After those airbag incidents, the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 (FMVSS 208) was amended and required cars to have dual front airbags and to have the second generation airbags because of the injuries caused by the first generation.

The newer versions of airbags have decreased the number of fatalities and injuries that are being reported but airbag malfunctions still happen from time to time.

In Germany, airbags are even regulated as harmful explosives and only specially trained mechanics can service airbags. The reason behind this is because airbags are triggered by one or more pyrotechnic devices more known as an initiator or an electric match and it can deploy up to speeds of 200mph.

A defective airbag under those conditions may deploy early or deploy late. There have been incidents where the airbag itself exploded. Victims of airbag explosions compare the noise to that of a shotgun blast.

If you are injured because of an airbag malfunction, check these factors before filing a case for personal injury:

• Was the airbag supposed to deploy when it did?

 If the airbag was supposed to deploy but did not, there may be a "failure to deploy" or "non-deployment" case. It can be attributed to different factors:

 Crash censor failure often result to non deployment of airbags because it did not send a signal to the airbag trigger to initiate deployment.

 When a driver’s airbag did not deploy but the passengers airbag did then it may have a defect on its "clockspring." The clockspring transmits an electrical current to the driver’s airbag to initiate deployment.

 When a driver’s airbag does deploy but the passenger’s airbag did not then it may be a result of the advanced airbags. Advance airbags, which is now widely used on new cars, failed to detect the passenger with its censor thus not recognizing the need to deploy airbags.

• Was the airbag deployment delayed?

 This usually happens during minor accidents where the crash impact is different from the conditions of the airbag testing.

 Delayed deployment causes the person to move towards the airbag and be out of position. The extreme force can cause a number of serious injuries.

• Does the airbag have safety features?

 An airbag can inflate up to 200 mph and should have certain features that can reduce the risk of injury.

 Common safety features are:

 Airbag inflators – Causes the airbags to inflate less forcefully.

 Tethers – Helps avoid "bag slaps" or when part of an airbag inflates or travels further than its supposed shape and strikes the person with the force.

 Vents – Decreases pressure from the airbags.

Airbag malfunctions can cause serious injuries and a personal injury lawyer can help you claim damages for the harm caused by the defective airbag.