Two More Honda Drivers Dead from Takata Airbags
Are Takata airbags still killing drivers?
And just like that, with the deaths of two more drivers, the collective death toll among multiple automakers’ vehicles reportedly related to defective Takata airbags has risen to at least 21 people.
Honda defects attorneys are not alone in dealing with the continuing fall-out of the largest and most far-reaching auto recall issue in history—deadly exploding airbags manufactured by Takata.
As we’ve previously reported in this blog, the Takata airbag recall spans nearly every auto manufacturer. Unfortunately for Honda, the latest known deaths attributed to the defective airbags allegedly happened to an Accord and a Civic driver who lived in Florida and Louisiana—notoriously hot and humid states.
In the event of a crash, ammonium nitrate inside the Takata airbag’s metal inflator is supposed to cause the “small explosion ” needed to deploy the airbag. This chemical, reportedly unique to Takata airbags, has been found to become “unstable”. The combination of “age, heat, humidity, and the design of the inflators” turns the metal inflators into “grenades” that literally explode and spew “hot shrapnel” into the driver and other occupants of the vehicle—with gruesome and sometimes fatal results—even in the most minor fender-benders.
In the recent 2002 Accord fender-bender in Florida, the driver was killed after the Takata airbag inflator exploded, resulting in a “6 x 3-inch wound to her left temple, a fractured skull, and bleeding on the brain” requiring the need for intensive wound care treatment. Other passengers were also reportedly injured by the shards of metal. In the 2004 Civic accident in Louisiana, a rear-end collision reportedly exploded the airbag and sent shrapnel into the driver’s throat killing him.
Takata has reportedly recalled yet another “3.3 million airbag inflator’s affecting numerous automakers” at or around the time of these most recent two accidents.
One of the difficulties in getting these literal “time bombs” off the road is the fact that a significant percentage of the most dangerous vehicles are now 10, 15, or even more years old and may have changed owners several times. Automakers claim this makes it difficult to get auto recall notices into the hands of the current vehicle owners.
If you have questions regarding an auto recall, or feel you may be driving a “lemon” because your relatively new vehicle is constantly in the shop for the same issue or repair, The Law Offices of Timothy Abeel & Associates can help you. Contact us today for a free consultation.