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Statement of Norma Brainerd on 1994/Early 1995 Nissan Altima Air Bags
Aug. 7, 2002

My name is Norma Brainerd. I currently work and live in Portland, Oregon, with my husband Lewis and our two children, Ben and Julia.

I am here today because I am the victim of a 1994 Nissan Altima air bag injury. In 1994 I was a single mother, and the kids and I commuted to Seattle every other weekend to see their father. I wanted a safe vehicle for my children and myself, and Nissan advertised the Altima as luxury and safety at an affordable price. The passenger air bag was supposed to be an additional safety feature. I purchased the car new from a dealer.

On December 22, 1995, a friend and I were in my car driving south along the Oregon coast highway. My friend was driving, and I was in the front passenger seat. My seat was halfway back in the seat track and I was properly wearing my seatbelt. When I saw a viewpoint off to the right, my friend asked if I wanted to stop, and I said yes. My friend turned into the viewpoint area but unfortunately there was a curbed area directly in front of us. The car hit the curb at a low impact and speed, which resulted in the driver and passenger air bags deploying. The driver experienced no injuries. I experienced the full frontal blow of the passenger-side air bag. I immediately felt extreme pain and heat in my head. The last visual memory I had was of the ocean off to the right just prior to the crash.

I remember hearing an ambulance coming to my aid, and was taken to the emergency room at a local hospital. It was there that doctors told me that I had a broken nose, a concussion and I was completely blind. The doctors said that I was blinded due to the impact of the air bag and they were unsure what treatments to give me. I was then transferred to a Portland hospital for further evaluation and treatment. I stayed in the hospital during Christmas and was released. The doctors indicated there was nothing else they could do for me. I was told I would never see again. Six weeks after the accident, my eyesight began to return, but I’ve regained only partial eyesight, primarily in my right eye.

After the accident, I was unsure of what my future held, and was concerned about not being able to return to work and take care of my children. I sought legal advice from a lawyer, Larry Baron. It was then that I learned that I was not the only person injured by a ‘94 Nissan Altima air bag. It became apparent that this issue was larger than just my injury. I realized that other people could be blinded, or worse, by this air bag. I decided to sue Nissan. I wanted to raise public awareness of the defective air bag system and force Nissan to take action to correct the problem.

Almost three years after the accident, my case finally went to trial in federal court. It was settled after only a few days, following the testimony of a former General Motors engineer that safer air bag designs were available. A non-disclosure agreement prevents me from discussing the amount of the settlement.

That was in 1998. Now, four years later, I am still waiting for Nissan or the federal government to act. I am currently legally blind in my left eye, have impaired vision in my right eye, and have extreme light sensitivity. As a result of my eye injuries, I am also more susceptible to future eye disease and further vision loss. I am extremely fortunate to be legally blind in only one eye. There are other people who have been injured by this same air bag that are completely blind. But I still face the fear of eye disease and injury, which could result in permanent blindness.

In the time since my accident there have been numerous other people injured by this same air bag. Nissan is aware of the defective product and has done nothing to recall and replace it. But they did alter the 1994 Altima air bag design halfway through the 1995 model year, decreasing the size of the passenger bag.

In my opinion, Nissan was then, and continues to be, an irresponsible manufacturer. There was no posted warning to the purchaser about the potential danger of the air bag and the potential of permanent blindness. It was just the opposite – Nissan’s advertising bragged about the safety features. How many more people need to be injured, and how much longer do we need to wait for Nissan to take proper action to recall the 1994-1995 Nissan Altima air bags? How many cases will "settle"? What does Nissan think is a fair settlement amount for a person being permanently blinded? Does it take NHTSA to force Nissan to be responsible and activate a recall?

There should be an immediate recall so that this air bag does not injure or blind more people. Nissan produced 250,000 of these cars, and many remain on the road. How many of these defective air bags will unexpectedly take the precious vision of other innocent victims before Nissan takes proper action and recalls this air bag?

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