Airbags are designed to save lives in the event of an auto accident. Occasionally, though, an inflated airbag may injure a passenger. Most bags deploy with a tremendous amount of force, thus posing a serious threat to those who sit too closely to them. Unfortunately for those injured, airbag lawsuits are extremely hard to win.

But earlier this month, a jury awarded a ten-year-old Texas girl $4 million after she was left seriously injured by an airbag. Ashlee Hillhouse was riding in the passenger seat of her mother's 1994 Plymouth Voyager in August 1998 when the car collided with another vehicle. Hillhouse's airbag deployed but hit the girl's head with such force that her nerves were pulled out of her spinal cord. Hillhouse's left arm and hand were left ninety percent paralyzed.

Attorneys representing Hillhouse argued that design alternatives could have prevented the girl's injuries. According to plaintiff attorneys, the case may have a profound effect on future airbag cases.