AIRBAG DEPLOYMENT AND EYE PERFORATION BY A TOBACCO PIPE

Airbags have been shown to reduce injuries and save the lives of car o ccupants in a crash. Like any protection system, airbags potentially i ntroduce some new risks if no appropriate countermeasures are taken. A case of a relatively moderate frontal impact is described where the d river of an airbag-equipped car suffered a severe penetrating eye inju ry after the airbag deployed. Since the airbag fabric itself was exclu ded as an injury-producing structure, other objects such as eyeglasses , a wristwatch, a bracelet, and a large finger ring had to be assessed . The investigation of the car interior as well. as the morphologic de tails of the injuries to the eye and the face revealed that the most l ikely candidate for the injury was a tobacco pipe, which was probably being held in one hand and was broken apart by the deploying airbag an d projected into the face of the driver. This case illustrates the haz ard of having any rigid object between the occupant and the deploying airbag. The desirability of warning car occupants of the potential haz ards which can result from today's protection systems is also discusse d,