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If you were injured by a defective Takata airbag, you could be eligible to file a Takata airbag lawsuit and receive compensation for your damages.
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Consumers seriously injured by defective airbags can file a Takata airbag lawsuit to recover damages for their losses. Roughly 70 million vehicles in the U.S. and 100 million worldwide have been recalled because of the dangerous airbags. One in eight Americans may drive a vehicle with a defective airbag.
Takata airbag inflators have defects that cause severe injury. People are suing large corporate vehicle manufacturers and pursuing claims through the Takata Trust claims process following Takata Corporation’s bankruptcy.
The inflators explode like a grenade in your face or with too much force, causing the airbags to rupture and strike occupants with metal fragments or hard blows to the head and face. They also may underinflate and fail to protect motorists during accidents. These defects have caused vehicle occupants to suffer severe injuries and even death.
The Takata airbag recall of 100 million vehicles (67 million in the U.S.) has been linked to over 25 deaths and more than 400 injuries worldwide.
Yes, there have been numerous mass legal actions associated with Takata airbag injuries, including multidistrict litigation (MDL) and class action lawsuits.
Those injured by violent and overly aggressive Takata airbag deployments, ruptures and explosions are claiming severe injuries, such as:
Injured people can receive compensation for medical expenses, lost wages and earning capacity, pain and suffering and more in a Takata airbag lawsuit settlement. Below are examples of lawsuits that have won jury verdicts or were settled.
In 2015, Motley Rice and co-counsel reached a confidential settlement for Law Suk Leh, a Malaysian woman, and her unborn baby. They were allegedly killed by the violent explosion of metal shrapnel expelled from a Takata airbag in her 2003 Honda City Car that had not been recalled. Leh was 42 years old and nearly nine months pregnant at the time of the crash. The accident occurred on July 27, 2014, in Sibu, Sarawak, East Malaysia. Upon impact, metal shrapnel flew out of the airbag and caused a severe puncture wound in Leh’s neck, leading to her death. Her baby, Elsa Mia Law Caido, was delivered but passed away days later.
In 2016, Motley Rice lawyers reached a confidential settlement on behalf of a woman who allegedly suffered permanent vocal cord damage when shrapnel from a Takata airbag cut her throat during an accident involving her 2003 Honda Civic.
Please note: prior results do not guarantee a similar payout or outcome.
If you or someone you love has been seriously injured in an accident involving a recalled vehicle and you believe that those injuries were caused by a defective Takata airbag, you have legal rights and may be able to file a lawsuit.
For more information, contact our team by filling out our online form or calling 1.800.768.4026.
Design flaws in Takata airbags, including deadly propellant mixtures used to inflate the bags with stored gases, may cause them to explode or inflate improperly, causing serious injuries to passengers. These defects may be more likely to occur in humid climates.
NHTSA issued a consumer advisory to all potentially impacted vehicle owners on Oct. 22, 2014. The advisory urged owners in humid climates such as Florida, South Carolina, Puerto Rico and areas along the Gulf of Mexico to act immediately. The defect may be related to prolonged exposure to hot, humid environments, which prompted the consumer advisory.
Additionally, the newly discovered defect of potentially faulty Takata airbag inflators prompted a 2020 recall. Nearly three million older model BMW, Audi, Honda, Isuzu, Toyota and Mitsubishi vehicles in the U.S were under the recall. The defect involves front driver Non-Azide Driver Inflators (NADI) with insufficient seals. The seals may deteriorate over time when exposed to moisture or hot, humid environments. As a result of the deterioration, the inflators may explode too quickly, causing airbags to rupture. This explosion can potentially hit vehicle occupants with flying metal fragments.
On Nov. 3, 2015, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) imposed a notable civil penalty on Takata. The penalty was the largest in NHTSA’s history up to that point – $200 million. Of that $200 million fine, $70 million was due immediately. The remaining $130 million would become due if the airbag company failed to follow orders issued by NHTSA, including the appointment of an independent safety monitor. NHTSA also ordered that Takata phase out production and sales of airbag inflators that use ammonium nitrate propellant.
There have been several incidents that have prompted recalls for Takata airbags.
On May 19, 2015, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) and NHTSA announced that Takata Corp. had acknowledged a defect in Takata airbags installed in nearly 34 million vehicles manufactured by 11 different automakers. NHTSA researchers stated at the time it was not only the largest U.S. auto recall in history, but possibly the largest in all of U.S. consumer product recalls. DOT Secretary Anthony Foxx said this was "the most complex consumer safety recall in U.S. history.”
In November 2020, an additional 7 million General Motors vehicles were added to the list of recalled vehicles covering GM trucks and SUVs, including:
Watch Motley Rice vehicle defect attorney Kevin Dean’s interview with CBS Evening News about the Takata recalls:
An airbag defect prompted a 2020 recall of nearly 3 million BMW, Audi, Honda, Isuzu, Toyota and Mitsubishi vehicles in the U.S. These autos were equipped with potentially faulty Takata airbag inflators. This recall was in addition to Takata’s exploding airbag recall issued in April 2013 that affected approximately 100 million vehicles globally.
On January 19, 2021, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) ordered Ford Motor Co. and Mazda Motor Corp. to recall and repair 3 million vehicles that contained potentially defective Takata airbags. NHTSA rejected requests from the automakers to avoid a recall.
Vehicles included in the latest recall include:
If your vehicle is one of the millions impacted by the recall of Takata airbags, you were likely shocked to learn that you were – or still are – driving around with a very dangerous airbag that could seriously injure you or your passengers. Car owners can check whether their vehicle is involved in the recall by entering their 17-digit Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) or license plate number into the Recalls Lookup Tool on the NHTSA website.
05.29.25
A California lawsuit claims the independent repair shop where a Cayman Islands woman routinely had her 2008 Honda Fit serviced was not informed of the Takata airbag recall. She died in October 2022 after being struck by shrapnel from a recalled Takata airbag installed in her vehicle. Motley Rice did not represent the plaintiff.
05.04.25
A Florida jury awarded $3 million to a man seriously injured in 2020 when the faulty Takata airbag in his vehicle shot a several-inch-long piece of metal shrapnel into his arm. Motley Rice did not represent the plaintiff.
09.03.24
NHTSA reported the 28th death in the U.S. caused by a defective Takata air bag inflator.
No, Takata is no longer in business. Takata Corporation filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in June 2017, claiming that a restructuring of the company’s assets was needed to appease creditors. Key Safety Systems acquired Takata’s assets, excluding the assets related to the faulty airbags.
The bankruptcy filing came months after Takata agreed to pay several fees related to the mass recall of its defective airbags, including roughly $1 billion to the U.S. government in criminal penalties. In a hearing on June 27, 2017, Motley Rice asked the court to consider forming a committee to protect plaintiffs’ interests throughout the bankruptcy proceedings.
On July 6, 2017, three personal injury plaintiffs represented by Motley Rice and co-counsel were selected to join a seven-member Tort Creditors’ Committee comprised of personal injury and economic loss claimants harmed by Takata Corp. The committee served as a mouthpiece for similarly situated claimants across the country. It advocated for their concerns throughout Takata’s bankruptcy proceedings.
In February 2018, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware approved a pair of bankruptcy resolutions reached between Takata and creditors. Motley Rice helped negotiate the resolutions and secured funds for current claimants and potential future personal injury and wrongful death victims.
The resolutions included a trust for personal injury victims valued between $90 million and $137 million and a channeling agreement that allows for future claims. The first resolution is with TK Holdings, Inc., the U.S. division of Takata. The second is with Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) Honda North America, Inc.
Victims, including some represented by Motley Rice, negotiated through the Tort Creditors’ Committee to secure resolutions that were more favorable than those initially proposed by Takata and the OEM.
On January 13, 2017, the U.S. Department of Justice announced that Takata agreed to plead guilty to a single felony count of wire fraud and pay $1 billion in criminal penalties. About $125 million was used to form an Individual Restitution Fund to compensate consumers who suffered or will suffer personal injuries. Special Master Eric D. Green oversees the fund.
Claim forms are available on the Individual Restitution Fund website. Claimants are welcome to fill out and submit the forms on their own. For cases involving complicated injuries, claimants may consider consulting an attorney before submitting the form.
Motley Rice Takata airbag test shows what happens when a defective airbag is deployed:
Victims of car crashes are often unaware that a defective vehicle or component part may have contributed to, worsened or caused the incident. Unfortunately, these manufacturing defects can lead to severe and sometimes even fatal accidents. Even worse, some manufacturers were aware of the defects and tried to conceal them.
Motley Rice represents victims of car crashes in complex vehicle defect litigation, using document and liability discovery and experts in vehicle engineering and safety. Our attorneys have represented clients in product defect cases involving vehicle rollover, occupant protection, ABS malfunction, window glazing, roof crushing, tire de-treading and defective airbags.
Motley Rice vehicle defect attorney Kevin Dean has been reviewing and studying the issues involved with defective Takata airbags since he filed a wrongful death action in November 2014. Dean and his forensic team have investigated more than 100 cases.
Having experience in other vehicle defect cases and after intensely studying defective airbags, Kevin Dean is frequently a resource for media reporting on the issue, including CBS Evening News.
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Focusing his litigation efforts on catastrophic injury, products liability, and wrongful death cases, Kevin Dean represents victims and families affected by hazardous consumer products, occupational and industrial accidents, fires, premise injuries, toxic exposure and other incidents of negligence.
