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1997 OLDSMOBILE ACHIEVA — AIR BAGS:FRONTAL

1 injured · 179881 · 1999-10-24

Vehicle

Make
OLDSMOBILE
Model
ACHIEVA
Year
1997
Manufacturer
General Motors, LLC
Component
AIR BAGS:FRONTAL
Speed
70 mph

Severity

Deaths
0
Injured
1
Fire
No
Crash
No
Police report
Yes
Medical attention
No
Vehicle towed
No

Narrative

ON 3/30/99 WAS DRIVING 70 MPH ON SMOOTH INTERSTATE, DRY ROAD CONDITIONS WHEN DRIVER SIDE AIRBAG DEPLOYED FOR NO REASON. WAS ABLE TO PULL CAR TO SIDE OF ROAD. CONTACTED GM THAT AFTERNOON AFTER RETURNING FROM THE EMERGENCY ROOM. SUFFERED WHIPLASH AND STRAINED BACK AND NECK MUSCLES. GM TOOK REPORT. WENT SEVERAL MONTHS WITH NO INFO FROM THEM. GM CONTACTED US TO TRY TO SETTLE, BECAUSE OF TIME AND DOCTOR BILLS INVOLVED, WE EMPLOYED AN ATTORNEY. GM TOLD US BECAUSE WE GOT AN ATTORNEY THAT THEY WOULD NOT SETTLE AS QUICK. FINALLY OF 6/9/99 GM EMPLOYEES CAME TO OUR PLACE OF BUSINESS AND LOOKED AT CAR AND REMOVED COMPUTER FROM UNDER THE RIGHT FRONT PASSENGER SEAT. SAID IT WOULD TAKE A COUPLE OF WEEKS TO "DRY IT OUT" SO THEY COULD TELL WHAT HAPPENED. AS OF THIS DATE, GM IS GIVING US THE RUNAROUND AND HAS SAID THAT THEY HAVE NOT GOTTEN THE BOX TESTED YET. WE DON'T KNOW IF YOU CAN DO ANYTHING TO ENCOURAGE THEM TO BRING THIS INCIDENT TO A CLOSE BUT THERE HAVE BEEN A LOT OF MEDICAL BILLS AND I AM STILL HAVING PROBLEMS WITH MY NECK AND BACK WHICH IS GREATLY AFFECTING MY WORK. SOMEHOW ONE OF THE PEOPLE FROM YOUR OFFICE FOUND OUT ABOUT THIS INCIDENT AND CONTACTED US, HOWEVER, WE HAVE NOT HEARD BACK FROM HIM, HOWEVER HE WAS SURPRIZED THAT GM HAD NOT TRIED TO SETTLE WITH US. THIS CAR IS USED AS OUR PERSONAL CAR AND WHEN GM REMOVED THE COMPUTER BOX, THEY DID NOT OFFER TO HAVE THE COMPUTER OR THE AIRBAG REPLACED. WE ARE HAVING TO DRIVE THIS CAR IN THIS CONDITION AS WE CANNOT AFFORD TO PU

Source

Authoritative
NHTSA ODI Flat-File Downloads
ODI Number
713788
Machine
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