Following up on our blog post about Takata airbags from Nov. 22, 2014 (“Airbags allegedly causing consumer death instead of saving lives”), another claim is making its way through our civil court system. The emotional trauma of losing a child in a preventable accident is devastating. The parents of a 17-year-old Texas girl who died a little more than a month ago recently filed a product liability lawsuit against the manufacturer of the Takata airbags that were fitted in the car she was driving at the time of the tragedy. Reportedly, hers was the 10th death in the country that was positively linked to Takata.
According to the lawsuit, the teenager was involved in a rear-end crash on March 31. The impact caused the airbag to inflate. As seen in other crashes involving the Takata airbag, the ammonium nitrate inflated the airbag with so much force that it exploded. The explosion caused a piece of metal from the airbag to lodge in the girl’s throat, causing her instant death.
It is alleged that the girl would have survived had the airbag not deployed. The car in which the faulty airbag exploded was a 2002 Honda Civic. Reportedly, Honda claimed that a recall notice was sent to the vehicle owner, but there is no record of repairs done.
While it is the right of any Texas resident to pursue financial relief by filing a product liability claim, navigation of the legal proceedings may be complicated. However, with the support and guidance of an experienced attorney, financial relief may be obtained. A lawyer can assist in gathering evidence of negligence and/or breach of warranty on the part of the manufacturer of a defective product. Along with recovery of the expenses related to end-of-life arrangements, emotional damages caused by the fatality may also form part of the documented claims.
Source: kgns.tv, “Family files wrongful death lawsuit against Takata”, Roger Uvalle, April 28, 2016
