Takata Airbag Lawsuits: Economic loss class action filed in South Carolina
Motley Rice has filed a class action lawsuit involving economic loss claims by people who own vehicles that contain the recalled Takata airbags. The suit, Horton et al v Takata et al, alleges that Takata covered up its knowledge of the potentially deadly and dangerous airbags. Additional allegations include destruction of testing records and failure to warn consumers about the known defect.
More than 10 major vehicle manufacturers are involved in a series of recalls related to defective airbags manufactured by Takata Corp., impacting approximately 7.8 million vehicles in the United States. The defective airbags may cause serious injury and even death as they have the potential to release with excessive force and shoot metal shrapnel at passengers.
The reported injuries from the airbags have been described as causing wounds that resembled those of a stabbing as the airbags have the potential to explode and send shrapnel flying.
Given the potential for such serious injuries and even fatalities, the plaintiffs in this suit allege that they wouldn’t have purchased their vehicles knowing about these airbag defects, nor would they have purchased them at the price they did had they known.
“Many drivers with these cars are rightfully scared to drive them, and if I owned one, I’d certainly park it, as the injuries that have already occurred and the risk of potential injury is frightening,” stated Motley Rice attorney Jodi Westbrook Flowers. “However, even once fixed, these drivers are still left with a tainted vehicle, one that will be more difficult to sell and not hold its value. These drivers need to be compensated for their losses and burden of owning a car with such a dangerous defect.”