First, know that airbags are designed not to fire in every crash — but when a deployment-level impact produced no airbag, Georgia law gives you a potential product liability claim against the manufacturer on top of the claim against the at-fault driver (O.C.G.A. § 51-1-11). Two clocks run: two years for the injury suit (§ 9-3-33), and a hard 10-year limit from the vehicle's first sale for the product claim. Step one is always the same: don't let the car disappear.
Should your airbags have fired? The honest answer
Airbags are not designed to deploy in every collision — frontal bags generally fire in moderate-to-severe frontal impacts, and systems weigh speed, angle, and what the sensors read in milliseconds. A low-speed rear-ending on Memorial Drive without deployment is usually the system working as designed.
The cases that matter look different: a violent frontal or side impact with major structural damage and serious injuries — and silence from the airbags. When the crash was within the system's design envelope and nothing fired, or a bag fired late or with excessive force, the question stops being driver-versus-driver and becomes whether the vehicle itself failed.
Two defendants, two different legal clocks
Georgia's product liability statute, O.C.G.A. § 51-1-11, holds a manufacturer strictly liable when a new product was not merchantable and reasonably suited to its intended use and that condition proximately caused injury — no privity required. That claim runs alongside the ordinary negligence claim against the at-fault driver, with a jury apportioning fault between them (§ 51-12-33).
But the product claim carries a hard stop the driver claim doesn't: Georgia's statute of repose bars product actions ten years from the date of the first sale for use or consumption of the vehicle (§ 51-1-11(b)(2)) — with only narrow exceptions, including willful or reckless conduct and failure-to-warn duties. An older car can lose the manufacturer claim entirely while the driver claim lives on.
The wrecked car is the case — don't let it vanish
Everything a product claim needs lives in the vehicle: the airbag control module's recorded data, the sensors, the wiring, the undeployed bags themselves. And everything about the ordinary insurance process works against you — the car gets totaled, sent to salvage, and crushed or parted out within weeks, taking the proof with it.
So before signing the total-loss paperwork: photograph the car thoroughly, tell your insurer in writing that the vehicle must be preserved as evidence, and get counsel involved to arrange storage and a proper inspection. Our guide to post-crash steps in Decatur covers the ordinary track; this is the extra track for suspected defects.
What an airbag case involves — and why it's worth it
Product cases are engineering cases: downloading the control module, comparing the crash forces to the system's deployment thresholds, and expert analysis of whether the design or a component failed. They're more complex than a standard car accident claim — and they matter most in exactly the crashes where injuries are catastrophic and the at-fault driver's policy is nowhere near enough.
Dream Team Law evaluates suspected vehicle-defect cases across DeKalb County from our Atlanta office, with the engineering resources these claims demand. Free consultation, no fee unless we win.
Frequently asked questions
Should my airbags have gone off in my crash?+
It depends on the impact: frontal airbags are designed for moderate-to-severe frontal collisions, not every fender-bender. The red flags are a violent impact with serious injuries and no deployment, or a deployment that came late or caused its own injuries. An engineering review of the vehicle's recorded data answers it definitively.
The insurance company wants to total my car and take it. Should I let them?+
Not before the airbag question is resolved. Once the car goes to salvage, the control-module data, sensors, and undeployed bags — the entire product case — can be destroyed. Notify the insurer in writing that the vehicle must be preserved and get legal help arranging inspection and storage first.
My car is 12 years old — can I still sue the manufacturer over the airbags?+
Generally no: Georgia's statute of repose cuts off product liability actions ten years from the vehicle's first sale (O.C.G.A. § 51-1-11(b)(2)), with narrow exceptions including willful or reckless conduct and certain failure-to-warn claims. Your claim against the at-fault driver is unaffected by the repose period.
This article is for general information only and is not legal advice; reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Deadlines depend on the specific facts of your case — consult a licensed Florida attorney about your situation. Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.