A woman was found by Florida police after a car wreck, with apparent stab wounds to her neck. When the crash occurred the airbag exploded and it sent shrapnel into her neck.
After she died from her injuries, in October, 2014, a letter from Honda was received urging her to get her Accord fixed due to faulty airbags that could explode.
Deaths and injuries have occurred, associated with the recalls of vehicles containing defective airbags made by Takata, a Japanese supplier. Millions of vehicles have been recalled worldwide. The recall involves driver side and passenger side airbags.
It is alleged that defective inflator and propellant devices may deploy improperly during a crash, shooting metal fragments into the occupants of a vehicle. Metal shards from the airbag can be sprayed throughout the car, a potentially dangerous outcome from a supposedly life-saving device.
In a case where I represented a woman who was involved in a crash at Central Avenue and Thomas Road in Phoenix, due to a negligent left turning driver, she also suffered air bag related injuries, including burns and scarring to her arm. Following litigation, her claims for her injuries were settled with the other driver’s insurance company.
Sources:
“It looked Like a Stabbing but Takata Airbag was the Killer,” Hinoko Tabuchi and Christopher Jensen, New York Times, October 20, 2014.
Everything You Need to Know About the Takata Airbag Recall, Consumerreports.org, May 22, 2015.