Virtual reality (VR) headset defects causing TBI (traumatic brain injury) present complex legal and medical challenges.
Consumers expect VR devices to deliver immersive virtual environments while ensuring safe environments for physical activity.
However, as virtual reality technology expands in entertainment, education, and rehabilitation, the risk of VR injuries grows.
To prove product fault in cases involving head trauma, users must understand the medical classifications of traumatic brain injury, the legal standards of liability, and the specific duties of manufacturers and property owners under relevant laws.
This article will examine how to demonstrate VR headset defects causing TBI, using applicable U.S. product liability law, specific clinical criteria like the Glasgow Coma Scale, and emerging research on virtual reality safety.
Understanding Traumatic Brain Injury in the Context of Virtual Reality
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) occurs when an external force disrupts normal brain function. It ranges from mild traumatic brain injury (mild TBI) to severe traumatic brain injury (severe TBI).
In virtual reality systems, these injuries can result from collisions with real-world objects while immersed in a simulated environment, falls caused by motion sickness, or direct impacts from faulty VR headsets.
How It Works
Virtual reality games often encourage active movements, increasing the risk of musculoskeletal injuries, broken bones, spinal injuries, and even head trauma.
VR technology relies on creating a virtual reality environment with enhanced ecological validity, mimicking real-life conditions to improve brain plasticity and cognitive function.
While this design helps cognitive rehabilitation, it also introduces public health challenges if safety warnings and design safeguards are inadequate.
Common VR Injuries and Their Mechanisms
Injury mechanisms include:
- Head trauma from headset impacts (
- Upper limb injuries from collisions in limited spaces
- Musculoskeletal injuries from tripping or falling
- Spinal injuries from twisting or impact
- Motion sickness leading to dizziness and falls
Motion Sickness and More
Such injuries can lead to mild TBI or, in severe cases, acquired brain injury, chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or neurological disorders.
Clinical Classification: Glasgow Coma Scale and Neuropsychological
Clinicians often classify TBI severity using the Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS). A GCS score of 13–15 indicates mild TBI, 9–12 is moderate, and 8 or below is severe TBI.
Neuropsychological assessment and cognitive testing can identify cognitive impairment, executive function deficits, and memory loss following VR injuries.
For litigation purposes, these clinical measures help establish injury severity, causation, and damages. Blood samples and imaging can further support evidence of brain injury.
Legal Framework for Proving Product Fault
To prove product fault in U.S. law, plaintiffs generally pursue product liability claims under three theories:
- Design defect
- Manufacturing defect
- Failure to warn
Each requires specific evidence:
1. Design Defect
A design defect claim argues that the VR headset’s design was inherently unsafe. Plaintiffs must show that a safer, feasible alternative design existed. For example:
- Lack of adequate cushioning in the headset
- Inadequate fit leading to falls
- Absence of physical boundaries in the virtual reality system to prevent collisions
Applicable Law: The Restatement (Third) of Torts §2(b) explains that a product is defective in design if foreseeable risks could have been reduced by a reasonable alternative design.
2. Manufacturing Defect
A manufacturing defect arises when the product departs from intended specifications. For VR headsets, this could include:
- Faulty straps that break during use
- Loose internal components causing imbalance
- Defective sensors failing to track user motion correctly
Applicable Law: Under strict liability principles, plaintiffs need only prove the defect existed when the product left the manufacturer.
3. Failure to Warn
Manufacturers must provide clear, adequate safety warnings. Failure to warn claims involve:
- Inadequate motion sickness warnings
- Insufficient guidance on safe environments for VR use
- Omitting instructions to clear play spaces
Applicable Law: Courts apply the duty to warn principle, requiring manufacturers to warn about foreseeable risks not obvious to users.
Proving Causation in VR-Related TBI Cases
The following are some effective ways to prove causation in TBI cases due to a virtual environment
Causation in Personal Injury Cases Has Two Parts
Establishing causation is critical in any product liability or personal injury lawsuit. Courts typically break causation down into two elements that plaintiffs must prove: cause in fact and proximate cause.
Cause in Fact
This is often described as the “but-for” test. Plaintiffs must demonstrate that but for the defect in the VR headset or virtual reality system, the injury would not have occurred.
For example, if a headset’s defective strap snapped mid-session, causing the user to fall and suffer head trauma, the user must show that the fall and resulting traumatic brain injury would not have happened without that defect.
Proximate Cause
Proximate cause asks whether the injury was a foreseeable consequence of the defect. It focuses on whether the type of harm suffered was a reasonably predictable result of the VR headset’s unsafe condition.
For instance, it is foreseeable that a design flaw that fails to warn about motion sickness or unsafe environments could lead to falls, causing mild TBI, severe TBI, or other physical injuries.
How to Prove VR Headset Defects Causing TBI
To establish both the cause in fact and the proximate cause in court, plaintiffs typically rely on a range of evidence and documentation. Key examples include:
Medical Records Showing Head Trauma and Brain Injury
Medical records provide objective proof of the traumatic brain injury, from mild traumatic brain injury to severe traumatic brain injury.
They can also document related conditions like acquired brain injury, chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or neurological disorders.
Neuropsychological Assessments Documenting Cognitive Impairment
Detailed assessments help demonstrate cognitive impairment, executive function deficits, or other lasting impacts of brain injury. Such evaluations are vital for showing the extent of the harm and linking it to the incident with the VR headset or system.
Incident Reports or Video Evidence of the Accident
Evidence like security camera footage, in-game recording, or written incident reports can clearly show what happened.
For example, a video might depict the user tripping over an inadequately marked boundary in a simulated environment, supporting the argument that the injury resulted directly from design flaws or inadequate safety warnings.
Expert Testimony Explaining How the Defect Caused Injury
Experts in biomechanics, product design, or neurology can explain how the VR device’s defect led to head trauma.
Their testimony can connect design defects, manufacturing issues, or failure to warn with the specific mechanisms of injury, clarifying causation for the court.
The Role of Safety Standards and Emerging Research
VR developers and manufacturers should design systems with experimental control while considering real-world injuries and ecological real-world demands. Research emphasizes:
- Safe environments with clear boundaries
- Multisensory stimulation that avoids disorientation
- Enhanced ecological validity to mirror daily life activities without increasing risk
Systematic reviews and critical reviews highlight the need for industry standards on VR device safety. Emerging technology must address common VR injuries proactively.
Specific Laws and Regulatory Guidance
While the U.S. has no VR-specific federal law, general product liability statutes apply. Examples include:
- Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose
- State product liability acts imposing strict liability
- Consumer Product Safety Act (CPSA), which empowers the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to issue recalls for dangerous products.
Example Case: A VR headset manufacturer might face liability if it sold devices with known design flaws without adequate warnings. This can also help potential victims understand the recoverable damages from a TBI.
The Role of Property Owners and Clinical Settings
VR use in commercial spaces introduces premises liability. Property owners must maintain safe environments and warn of hazards. For example, a VR arcade failing to clear play areas could share liability for VR injuries.
Clinical settings using VR technology for upper limb motor rehabilitation or cognitive rehabilitation must also ensure safe protocols. Stroke patients, TBI patients, and young adults with sport-related concussion often use VR programs to improve brain plasticity and cognitive function. Negligent supervision in such environments could lead to liability.
Rehabilitation and Assessment Post-Injury
Before you wonder how long you have before filing a TBI injury lawsuit, you should consider rehabilitation. After VR-related brain injuries, patients may require:
- Neuropsychological assessment to assess daily life activities
- Cognitive rehabilitation to address cognitive impairment
- Physical therapy for upper limbs and motor recovery
- Blood samples and imaging to track healing
Advanced VR systems can assist rehabilitation through virtual reality environments designed to enhance ecological validity and neural reorganization. However, exclusion criteria must be defined carefully in research and clinical protocols to prevent worsening injuries.
Best Practices for Manufacturers and Users
Manufacturers should provide clear safety warnings about motion sickness, physical injury, and recommended safe environments. VR developers must design systems accounting for ecological real-world demands, offering guidance on minimizing risks of head trauma, spinal injuries, or broken bones.
What Should Users Do?
Users should:
- Clear play spaces to prevent collisions
- Follow device safety instructions
- Limit session duration to reduce motion sickness
The Role of Open Access Articles and Research
Recently, open-access articles distributed have started to show a remarkable change for the audiences. Open-access articles and study protocols support public understanding of VR safety. Researchers can distribute findings to guide VR developers in reducing injury risks. Experimental control and systematic reviews can identify design improvements and effective safety interventions.
For example, a critical review of VR injuries might reveal design elements that increase motion sickness or impair executive function in users with mild TBI. Sharing such knowledge helps improve virtual reality VR safety standards globally.
Global Public Health Perspective
The World Health Organization (WHO) recognizes TBI as a major public health challenge. Virtual reality technology, as an emerging technology, must balance innovation with user safety. Integrating augmented reality and VR systems into health care requires rigorous testing to ensure safe, effective rehabilitation without introducing new injury risks.
Contact Bourassa Law Group Today
If you or a loved one has suffered VR injuries such as head trauma, broken bones, spinal injuries, upper limb injuries, mild traumatic brain injury, severe traumatic brain injury, or other physical injury from defective VR headsets or unsafe virtual reality systems, you may have a legal claim.
Bourassa Law Group has experience handling complex product liability cases, personal injury claims, and matters involving neurological disorders, acquired brain injury, and cognitive impairment. We understand the evolving challenges of virtual reality technology, VR devices, VR programs, and augmented reality in today’s world.
Fight Your TBIs with BLG
Our team will work with you to gather medical records, neuropsychological assessments, blood samples, and other evidence to prove liability under relevant laws like the Uniform Commercial Code, state product liability acts, and the Consumer Product Safety Act. We fight to hold VR developers, manufacturers, and property owners accountable for failing to provide safe environments and adequate safety warnings.
Get in Touch Today
Don’t wait to protect your rights. Contact Bourassa Law Group today for a free consultation. Let TBI attorneys help you handle the complexities of your case and secure the compensation you deserve so you can focus on healing and resuming your daily life activities in the real world.
1-800-870-8910