Takata Victims Pursuing Legal Action Against Automakers
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A contingent of vehicle owners, victims, and their families claim five automakers using faulty airbags are every bit as culpable as airbag manufacturer Takata. As stated through their attorneys, they believe the automakers knew the airbags were defective, but continued to use them anyway to save money.
Plaintiffs filed dozens of lawsuits in Miami claiming that Honda, Nissan, Ford, BMW, and Toyota knew the inflators were faulty yet used them anyway. In a filing, it’s noted that an unidentified automaker described the faulty inflator problem as "one in which a passenger protection device was transformed into a killing weapon," the Associated Press reported.
"The automotive defendants were aware that rupture after rupture, both during testing and in the field, confirmed how dangerous and defective Takata’s air bags were," the plaintiffs’ attorneys said in the filing.
They contend that Honda saw airbag inflator ruptures in 1999 and 2000 while Toyota expressed concerns about Takata’s quality in 2003. They also note that Ford entered into a deal with Takata over the concerns of its airbag expert and Nissan and BMW were seeking cost savings of about $4 per unit by using Takata’s inflators.
Conversely, the automakers – 19 in all – have consistently maintained they were unaware of the problem. The Justice Department said Takata got automakers to continue buying its inflators "through submission of false and fraudulent reports and other information that concealed the true and accurate test results."
Plaintiffs filed dozens of lawsuits in Miami claiming that Honda, Nissan, Ford, BMW, and Toyota knew the inflators were faulty yet used them anyway. In a filing, it’s noted that an unidentified automaker described the faulty inflator problem as "one in which a passenger protection device was transformed into a killing weapon," the Associated Press reported.
"The automotive defendants were aware that rupture after rupture, both during testing and in the field, confirmed how dangerous and defective Takata’s air bags were," the plaintiffs’ attorneys said in the filing.
They contend that Honda saw airbag inflator ruptures in 1999 and 2000 while Toyota expressed concerns about Takata’s quality in 2003. They also note that Ford entered into a deal with Takata over the concerns of its airbag expert and Nissan and BMW were seeking cost savings of about $4 per unit by using Takata’s inflators.
Conversely, the automakers – 19 in all – have consistently maintained they were unaware of the problem. The Justice Department said Takata got automakers to continue buying its inflators "through submission of false and fraudulent reports and other information that concealed the true and accurate test results."
