Airbag Injury Claim UK

Can You Claim for an Airbag Injury?

An airbag is designed to save your life, but the force of deployment happens in a fraction of a second and can itself cause injury. You can bring an airbag injury claim in two main situations.

The first is where another driver caused the collision. Here the airbag injury is treated as part of the overall crash damage, and you claim against the at-fault driver's insurer for all injuries you suffered, including those inflicted by the deploying airbag.

The second is where the airbag itself was defective. If it failed to deploy when it should have, deployed too aggressively, deployed without any collision, or ruptured and expelled debris, the fault may lie with the manufacturer rather than another road user. In that case a product liability route may apply, whether or not another driver was also to blame.

Common Airbag Deployment Injuries

Because the airbag inflates directly towards the face and chest at high speed, certain injuries recur in these claims:

• Facial injuries such as bruising, fractures to the nose or cheekbone, and dental damage
• Burns and friction abrasions from the hot gases and the fabric surface, often across the forearms, chest and face
• Eye injuries caused by chemical residue, propellant particles or blunt impact, sometimes affecting vision
• Hearing damage including tinnitus or temporary or permanent hearing loss from the noise of deployment
• Wrist, hand and arm fractures where the hands were on the steering wheel at the moment of inflation
• Chest and rib injuries including bruising, fractures and, in severe cases, internal damage

Even injuries that seem minor at first, such as a persistent ringing in the ears or blurred vision, should be assessed medically and recorded, because they can form an important part of your claim.

Defective Airbags and Product Liability

Where the airbag did not perform as a safe product should, you may have a claim under the Consumer Protection Act 1987. This imposes strict liability on producers for damage caused by a defective product, meaning you do not have to prove negligence, only that the product was defective and that the defect caused your injury.

A product is defective if its safety is not what people are generally entitled to expect. An airbag that fails to inflate in a serious impact, inflates spontaneously, or shatters its housing and sends fragments into the cabin can fall within this definition.

Large-scale airbag recalls, such as those involving faulty inflators across many vehicle brands, illustrate the point: a component intended to protect can become the source of injury. If your vehicle has been subject to a recall, keep any recall notice and service records, as they may support a product liability claim. Claims of this kind can be brought against the producer, importer or, in some cases, the supplier.

What Your Compensation Can Cover

Compensation in an airbag injury claim is divided into two parts: general damages and special damages.

General damages compensate you for the pain, suffering and loss of amenity caused by the injury itself. To value these, solicitors and courts refer to the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG), which set out bracket ranges for different injury types and severities. Where your injury sits within a bracket depends on how serious it is, how long recovery takes, and whether any effect is permanent, such as scarring from a burn or lasting hearing loss.

Special damages compensate you for financial losses flowing from the injury. Common examples include:

• Lost earnings while you are unable to work, and any future loss of earning capacity
• Medical and rehabilitation costs, including treatment for burns, dental work or eye care
• Travel expenses for hospital and treatment appointments
• Care and assistance provided by family or friends during recovery
• Cost of aids, adaptations or replacement of damaged personal items

Keeping receipts, payslips and appointment records from the start makes the special damages part of your claim far easier to prove.

Factors That Affect How Much You Receive

There is no fixed tariff for airbag injuries, and no reliable average figure, because every claim turns on its own facts. Several factors shape the final valuation.

The severity and permanence of the injury is the biggest driver. A superficial friction burn that heals within weeks sits far below a facial scar, a fracture requiring surgery, or permanent hearing damage. Where the injury leaves visible scarring, its position and effect on appearance are assessed carefully, as the JCG treats facial scarring as a distinct category.

Your financial losses matter too. Two people with the same injury can recover very different amounts if one loses months of earnings and the other loses none. Ongoing care needs and future treatment costs can substantially increase an award.

Contributory fault can reduce it. If, for example, you were not wearing a seatbelt and this worsened the airbag injury, any award may be reduced by a percentage reflecting your share of responsibility. Wearing a seatbelt correctly is important, because airbags are designed to work in combination with it.

Time Limits and the Claims Process

Under the Limitation Act 1980 you generally have three years from the date of the accident to start court proceedings for a personal injury claim. Product liability claims under the Consumer Protection Act 1987 also carry a three-year limitation period from the date you knew, or ought to have known, of the damage and the defect, subject to a longer overall backstop.

There are exceptions. For children the three-year period does not begin until their eighteenth birthday. For someone who lacks the mental capacity to conduct a claim, the clock is paused while that incapacity continues, and a litigation friend can act on their behalf.

In practice the process runs like this: get medical treatment and keep records, gather evidence from the scene and any recall notices, and instruct a solicitor. Your solicitor sends a letter of claim to the driver's insurer or the manufacturer, an independent medical expert reports on your injuries, and the value is negotiated. The great majority of claims settle before any hearing.

No-Win-No-Fee Funding

Most airbag injury claims are funded through a conditional fee agreement (CFA), commonly called no-win-no-fee. Under a CFA you pay nothing upfront, and if the claim does not succeed you do not pay your solicitor's fees. If it succeeds, the solicitor takes a success fee, which is a percentage of your compensation and is capped by law at 25 per cent of the damages awarded for pain, suffering and past losses.

You will usually also take out after-the-event (ATE) insurance, which protects you against having to pay the other side's costs if the claim fails. The premium is generally only payable if you win.

Before signing, ask your solicitor to explain in plain terms what will be deducted from your compensation so you understand your likely net recovery, and check whether trade union membership or an existing legal expenses insurance policy could fund the claim instead.

This page is general information about UK law and is not legal advice; speak to a qualified solicitor about your own circumstances.

Frequently asked questions