The news regarding defective air bags from Takata has grown so common that it is easy for Louisiana residents to become inured to it and perhaps miss important new revelations. Air bag inflators might not have been a significant concern when people purchased their automobiles, but given the number of people who have suffered serious injury and even death as a result of product malfunction of this defective auto part, it is imperative to keep track of new information that arises regarding how and why it happened to determine whether or not it is possible to pursue compensation in a legal filing.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) issued a report stating that hundreds of air bag inflators that Takata used for its air bags experienced a rupture when being tested. According to the company, there were 245,000 inflators that were tested and 0.27 percent of them ruptured. That came to 660 of them or one in every 371. The agency provided four different reports regarding this issue. Included were its own. There was a variance in the ruptures depending on the location from which they came. Louisiana was among the humid southern states with the higher rates.
The air bag inflators are part of the most vast product recall for a defective auto part in the history of the United States. The relevant car models go as far back as the year 2000. When all is said and done, there could be as many as 70 million inflators affected by this issue. It has been reported that slightly more than one-third of the recalls of Takata inflators are repaired. The problem can grow worse as time passes as the product malfunction leads to the air bag deploying with an excess of force when there is a crash and thereby send shards of metal into the vehicle’s cabin.
Studies have shown that at least ten people have died because of this defect. With the information still not fully known and the number of people who have suffered injury or died because of this problem, those who believe that it might have been a factor need to have a full investigation. After an accident in which the air bag might have led to injury or death, speaking to an attorney about a product liability is the first step to pursuing compensation.
Source: cars.com, “Takata: 1 in Every 371 Inflators Ruptured in Testing,” Kelsey Mays, Sept. 26, 2016
