Many people are now familiar with the defective Takata airbags that have been recalled around the world.
And that’s a very good thing. 60 million have been recalled in the United States – the largest auto recall in history. These airbags have been linked to at least 13 deaths and over 100 injuries. Everyone needs to know about it.
But here’s the crazy part: automakers are STILL making cars with these defective airbags – the exact airbags that have exploded and killed people. When you’re injured in a car accident, you need an experienced auto accident lawyer Memphis, TN courts know well.
Takata (the airbag company) can’t make enough devices to cover both normal production AND the 60 million recalled cars. So the solution? Toyota, Volkswagen, Mitsubishi, and Fiat Chrysler are all selling cars with these defective, deadly airbags.
What’s worse: Fiat Chrysler and Toyota won’t even tell regulators or consumers which models contain the faulty airbags.
So you could be buying a BRAND NEW car with airbags that have been proven to kill people.
The New York Times reports:
The automakers and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration have said the airbags in new cars are safe, because only inflaters that have been exposed to moisture and abrupt temperature changes over a period of years could cause bags to explode and send metal shrapnel flying into car cabins. (Airbags in older cars and those in more humid regions pose the greatest risk for such eruptions.) The faulty bags placed in new cars will be recalled by the end of 2018, according to the safety administration.
This is simply not enough. It means that all of these cars will need to be recalled in two years OR ELSE THEY COULD KILL YOU. If you as a consumer are choosing between a car you know will be recalled in two years and one that doesn’t have the potential to explode and ruin your life, which would you choose? So of course these car companies don’t want anyone to know.
Add to that the fact that since the recall began in 2008, out of over 60 million recalled cars, only 8.4 have been repaired. According to the secretary of transportation, at least 20% will likely never be repaired.
And the solution to this massive safety problem, unprecendented in history, is to make even more of the cars and trick buyers into paying for them?
This is an outrage and just goes to show how few companies are looking out for drivers’ safety first. I see it every day as a Memphis car wreck lawyer: the car companies, insurance companies, and medical industry profit, while the people injured in the accident might never recover physically or financially.
It’s my job to help balance the scales of justice. If you’re injured in a car accident – whether through faulty airbags or human error – you should never go it alone.
Contact me today to discuss your situation. The conversation is free.