Air bags are supposed to help protect people involved in motor vehicle accidents and not cause them further injuries. Unfortunately, this isn’t always the case, and far too many people have been harmed as a result of Takata’s defective air bags. Takata, one of the largest air bag manufacturers in the world, has been in the news over the past year due to defective air bags that have exploded when deployed, sending shrapnel into the cabin of many vehicles. As a result, over 100 people have been injured and six people have died from these faulty air bags.
Since last fall, Takata has sent replacement parts to certain automobile dealers to correct the air bag problem. Approximately four million inflators were replaced, but it is now known that about 400,000 replacement parts for the driver-side inflators could contain a potentially defective “bat-wing” shaped propellant. Recently, Takata admitted to Congress that this part could be associated with the faulty air bag problem, and cars that received this part will need to have the part replaced a second time.
To date, there are still millions of cars affected by this recall that haven’t had their defective inflators replaced due to a parts shortage. This recall involves 34 million vehicles in this nation, which means about one out of every seven cars on U.S. roads are affected, according to CNN.
Waiting for Safety
Because of the millions of vehicles involved in this recall—and the fact that Takata currently doesn’t have enough parts to replace all the affected driver-side inflators—the air bag recall will occur in stages. This means that many people will be driving around in vehicles that have the potential to cause them harm. In fact, many vehicle owners will be placed on waiting lists for replacement parts and are expected to continue to drive their cars for months and years before getting the potentially dangerous air bag fixed.
We encourage you to check in with your dealership to see if your car is part of the recall and make sure your name is added to the wait list. In the meantime, if you are involved in a car accident and suffer additional injuries due to an exploding air bag, you need to seek legal advice immediately. If you found this blog helpful, please share it with those you know on Facebook in order to spread the word about this air bag recall.
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