7 Major Auto Makers Issue Recalls for Defective Airbags Legal News Articles & Interviews

Washington, DC  The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has ordered Ford to recall three million cars that contain defective driver’s side airbags. The airbags contain potentially faulty Takata inflators that may cause the bags to rupture, resulting in catastrophic airbag injuries. This follows a similar 2020 order affecting General Motors.

Miami, FL: If you received an “owner notification letter” from your car dealership regarding a defective airbag and there was a problem getting a replacement inflator, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says supply problems are over. But the Center for Auto Safety states that only a fraction of car owners have acted, with nearly 60 percent of inflators untouched. That statement, however, may not be completely accurate.

Oklahoma City, OK: With the revelation earlier this year that yet another victim of Takata airbag injuries had died, it’s instructive to look back at the case of Ashley Parham, widely believed as the first known victim of a defective airbag in 2009.

Washington, DC Takata airbag failures have already killed 22 people and injured nearly 200 more. The ensuing lawsuits and recalls affect nearly 13 percent of registered vehicles in the United States (and as many as a third of the cars on the road in Australia). It was the largest automotive recall in history, and it drove the company into bankruptcy.

Holiday, FL: Airbags were originally designed to help prevent injury and death, not cause them. However, the debacle that is the Takata airbag recall– the largest automotive recall in US history – continues to cause sometimes horrific airbag injuries, and on occasion airbag deaths.

Baton Rouge, LA Another death has been revealed from faulty Takata defective airbags after a man from Louisiana succumbed to his airbag injuries following a crash in July. The death has been confirmed by Honda, the manufacturer of the car the victim was driving when the accident took place. The death, revealed to Honda and the media late last month, brings to 20 the number of deaths worldwide that have been attributed to the problematic airbags.

Orlando, FL:At the beginning of last year, Takata—the automotive parts company behind the largest automotive recall in the nation’s history—entered into a plea agreement with the United States Department of Justice (DOJ). The company then declared bankruptcy a few months later, setting off an avalanche of legal filings throughout the world, with an international corporate restructuring effort continuing to this day. “It’s critical to remember that as this process plays out, consumers have and will continue to be hurt and killed by rupturing airbags,” says attorney Frank Melton of Newsome Melton, PA.

Detroit, MI Ford and Mazda have announced that they will recall hundreds of thousands of 2004 to 2006 Ford Ranger and Mazda B-Series trucks made by Ford. The second round of airbag recalls affects vehicles that were previously recalled in 2015 and 2016 for a temporary replacement of faulty airbag inflator mechanism. Takata airbags have been linked to 20 deaths and hundreds of injuries. In 2017 years of lawsuits forced Takata into bankruptcy.

Washington, DC: As Takata Corp. and its creditors continue to grapple with bankruptcy proceedings in tandem with a continuation of the supply chain for badly-needed replacement airbag inflators, it’s instructive to look back from whence we came with regard to airbag injuries, lawsuits and recalls.

Washington, DC While many exploding airbag lawsuits focus on the harm caused by flying shrapnel, it is also important to be aware of the risk of high temperature chemical burns. Airbags are filled with sodium hydroxide that becomes an aerosol during deployment. If the airbag is improperly vented or filtered, the gas can cause serious chemical burns, indirect burns from melting clothing and inhalation injuries. Potential plaintiffs should make sure that they have complete medical records, including photographs, of all of their airbag injuries when seeking legal redress.