Takata Airbag Problems Worsen & Potential for Total Airbag Recall Rises

The Takata airbag problems may be more widespread than previously thought, but is a total recall imminent?

Some 24 million vehicles have been recalled from 14 separate auto manufacturers due to the potential for injury or death as these devices can rupture and spray out metal shards on occupants.
On Tuesday, General Motoris announced it will recall roughly 200,000 Saab and Saturn vehicles in the United States as part of an earlier announcement of 5..4 million vehicles with the defective Takata airbags. The models affected are 2003 to 2011 Saab 9-3models; 2010 and 2011 Saab 9-5 models and 2008 to 2009 Saturn Astra cars.

Now the Associated Press reports that there are roughly 50 million cars equipped with potentially defective Takata airbag inflators that have not been recalled, according to Scott Upham, a former senior manager at Takata who now operates a research company in Rochester, New York that tracks air bag sales.

The scope of this safety issue has not be ignored by two senators who on Feb. 2, 2016 asked President Barrack Obama to take immediate steps to get these potentially lethal airbags out of all cars before another preventable death takes place.

Indeed, Sens. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut and Edward Markey of Massachusetts, asked the president and urged the National Highway Transportation Administration (NHTSA) to also publish all the makes and models of vehicles that have been equipped with the air bags between 2000 and provide results from inflator tests to consumers. They also want “every vehicle with airbags using ammonium nitrate as their propellant” to be recalled and the repair of these vehicles accelerated.

“No one should die in a fender bender crash because they have faulty air bags,” said Attorney James Johnson. “We may need a total recall of these Takata airbags. Drivers have a false sense of security that these airbags will save their lives.”

There have been 10 confirmed deaths and more than 150 injuries attributed to defective Takata airbags. The latest victim of a fatal crash attributed to defective Takata airbags took place just before Christmas in December 2015. Joel Knight, 52, was driving a 2006 Ford Ranger when he struck a cow near his South Carolina home. He was impaled by metal shards from the exploding Takata airbags and died. His lawyers say it was a survivable crash if it were not for the explosive airbags. What makes this crash significant is that his vehicle was not subject to the many Takata airbag recalls because testing had not identified it as having any sort of failures.

“People are being blindsided because they do not have the information necessary to know if they have a potentially lethal explosion waiting to happen,” said Johnson.

Johnson Attorneys Group is a California law firm that handles claims on behalf of people who have been injured or have lost a loved one in a car crash as well as owners of vehicles whose cars are eligible for protection under California Lemon Laws.

Our law firm takes pride in knowing we are helping people get the compensation they are entitled to by standing up to large corporations, government entities and insurance companies.

Our law office has experience with Takata Corp. and Honda Motor Co. We can help you by offering a free consultation at 800-235-6801. Our lawyers work on a contingency-fee basis so you will not pay their fees unless a settlement is obtained for you.

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