Man loses vision in one eye after car airbags ‘fail’ in crash, awarded Rs 6.15 lakh payout

Crash followed by injury

The complainant stated that his 2010-model Hyundai i20 met with an accident near Coimbatore in 2015, while the complainant was returning from Tamil Nadu with his family. According to the complaint, he swerved the vehicle to avoid an accident, which then collided with a lorry. Although the impact caused extensive damage to the front of the vehicle, the airbags allegedly did not deploy. The complainant and his daughter suffered grievous injuries and underwent treatment at a hospital. He claimed that despite spending more than Rs 3 lakh on treatment, he permanently lost vision in his right eye.

The complainant argued that he had purchased the fully loaded variant of the vehicle by paying a higher price specifically for its safety features and that the airbags’ failure to deploy during such a serious collision was due to a manufacturing defect. He said that had the airbags deployed, the injuries sustained by him would have been substantially mitigated, and the permanent loss of vision could have been avoided.

Hyundai denied liability and argued that the vehicle had previously met with accidents and that the repeated accidents adversely affect the performance of the vehicle. It was further stated that the complainant had not immediately complained about the airbags after the crash. Hyundai contended that there was no evidence whatsoever to establish that the accident or the injuries were caused by any manufacturing defect or that the conditions necessary for deployment of the airbags were satisfied.

Rejecting these arguments, the commission observed that a person who has sustained serious injuries cannot be expected to immediately inspect the functioning of the airbag system or raise technical objections before the workshop. It further noted that if previous accidents had impaired the functioning of such a critical safety feature, the authorised service network of the manufacturer should have identified the defect during inspection and advised replacement or rectification.

“The manufacturer cannot rely upon previous accidents without producing any technical material to establish that those accidents had actually disabled the airbag system,” it stated. The commission noted that the complainant had successfully established that the vehicle was involved in a severe frontal collision and that the airbags had failed to deploy.

The commission directed Hyundai Motors India Ltd to pay Rs 4 lakh towards medical treatment, Rs 2 lakh as compensation for pain, suffering and mental agony, and Rs 15,000 as litigation costs.

Takeaway

A consumer can hold a vehicle manufacturer liable for deficiency in service if a critical safety feature such as airbags fails to function during a severe collision and the evidence shows they should have deployed.

For consumer-related grievances, individuals may contact the consumer helpline in their respective states and Union territories (Kerala: 1800-425-1550) or call the National Consumer Helpline at 1915 for assistance.