Laryngotracheal disruption in a child following airbag deployment

Discussion Fatalities from motor vehicle collisions have reduced over the last number of years as a result of many useful government strategies. 1 The enforcement of speed-limits, mandatory wearing of seat-belts, anti drink-driving campaigns, and the presence of airbags have all contributed to this reduction. The first case of an airbag-associated death was published in the UK in 2000, 3 although these had been well documented in the USA previously. 4 Cases of injuries to the head and neck (temporomandibular joint injury, decapitation, and cervical spine fractures), torso (rib fractures, pneumothoraces, aortic transaction), and axial skeleton (fractures, burns) have been widely published. 5 Evidence from the USA suggests that passenger airbags are associated with increased death in children. 6 7 This is believed to be as a result of rear-facing child seats and forward-facing children who are unrestrained (or improperly restrained).