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Articles Tagged with automobile defects

Could the airbag in the automobile you drive, that is supposed to protect you in the event of an accident, seriously harm or even kill you instead?

For millions of drivers in the U.S., the unfortunate answer is yes. And many of these people are still unaware of the danger.

Millions of Takata airbags, in dozens of car models and brands, have a defect that could cause them to explode when deployed, sending metal shrapnel into the driver and passengers. Current airbag recalls in the U.S could eventually include as many as 42 million vehicles with the potentially lethal Takata airbags, but the word has not gotten out to everyone about the danger. So far, only 12.5 million of these faulty airbags have been replaced, and that leaves millions of people at risk. 1

Co-authored by Cassidy Carroll of The Collins Law Firm, P.C.

Recently, a Texas jury ordered Audi to pay $124.5 million to an 11-year-old boy who was left brain-damaged, partially paralyzed and blinded in his right eye in a 2012 rear-end collision. The verdict is in response to Audi equipping their 2005 Audi A4 with a seat back that was too weak to withstand a rear-end crash.

At the trial, the parents of the boy argued that, despite wearing seatbelts, the inadequate seat back caused the front seat collapse resulting in the driver, the boy’s father, sliding backward and hitting his head on his son’s head in the back seat. The accident occurred when their car was rear-ended after they stopped for a school bus.

Earlier this month, the Obama Administration announced a $70 million fine against automaker Honda. The fine–the largest civil penalty levied against an automaker–is in response to Honda’s failure to report to regulators death and injury complaints for over a decade between 2003 and 2014.

Among those complaints that were not reported were incidents of airbag failures manufactured by Japanese auto supplier Takata Corp. Takata-made airbags can rupture after a crash creating potentially fatal injuries to drivers and passengers.

This government action highlights the serious consequences to the American public of defectively manufactured automobiles. Each year, thousands of people are injured or killed as a result of unreasonably dangerous and defective cars, trucks, and motorcycles. Government action, like that taken against Honda, along with civil lawsuits against the manufacturers of defective automobiles work together to expose defective products, compensate those who have been injured or killed by these defective products and serve to improve future products and protect the public.

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