Takata Corp. knew about a problem with its defective airbags as early as May 2005, according to The Wall Street Journal. Despite that they did not begin to warn automakers of the problem until 2007. In years 2008 through 2011 Honda began conducting safety recalls of vehicles believed to be at risk for the rupturing airbags. In 2013 Honda was joined by Toyota, BMW, Nissan, and Mazda in initiating safety recalls related to passenger bag ruptures in certain vehicles.
In June 2014 the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened an investigation after receiving complaints about defective airbags. This month on May 19, 2015 the ongoing problem has resulted in Takata almost doubling the number of cars recalled to 34 million cars. This is double the number of cars that had been recalled just over the past year. The NHTSA fined Takata and had them agree to expand the recall of passenger side front airbags to all 50 states, something the company had previously refused to do. Until now only the driver side front airbags had been under recall.
Latest Takata Defective Airbag Recall Largest in U.S. History
This is the largest auto safety recall for defective airbags in U.S. history. Although the recalls are for vehicle years 2002 through 2006, the watchdog group Center for Auto Safety believes the Takata airbag recall should include all airbag parts including those made through 2011.
To date there have been 6 Takata airbag deaths and 139 injuries as reported by Autoblog. The problem seems to be faulty inflators within the airbag which explode shooting large fragments of metal shrapnel into the faces and necks of driver and passengers. Anyone who is injured by a defective airbag or any defective car part has the right to seek compensation for their injuries under product liability.
Although Honda and Toyota drivers and passengers are at the greatest risk of having the defective airbags there are a number of other vehicles on the recall list. Vehicles which can be affected by the recall include certain models manufactured by Toyota, Honda, Mazda, BMW, Nissan, Mitsubishi, Subaru, Chrysler, Ford and General Motors. You can check to see if your vehicle is on the recall list by entering your vehicle identification number in the VIN tool at safercar.gov at this web address http://www.safercar.gov/Vehicle+Owners/vin-lookup-sites. If you have one of the vehicles on the recall list you should contact your car dealer to have the bad part replaced.
If you or a family member has been injured by a defective airbag or any type of defective automobile part you need to seek the help of a personal injury attorney who can help you get the compensation you will need to pay for medical bills, lost income, rehabilitation and more.
Call Atlanta product liability attorney Joel Baskin today for any type of personal injury claim. Whether it be product liability, motor vehicle accident, premises liability, medical malpractice, nursing home neglect, or dog bite, Joel can help build a strong case to get you the compensation you need and deserve.