A long list of recalled vehicles have the faulty Takata airbags in them, bags which use ammonium nitrate to cause the explosion to inflate the bag in an accident. The issue is that the chemical deteriorates over time, especially when exposed to heat and humidity. This causes an explosion that sends shrapnel into the passenger cabin, which has led to many deaths worldwide. The number of deaths has now ticked up to 20, the LA Times Reports.
Honda came forward and said that another person has died as a result of the faulty Takata airbags.
Honda said that the vehicle was a 2004 Honda Civic crashed back on July 10 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Officials from Honda and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration inspected the vehicle and confirmed it had, indeed, contained a Takata airbag. Also confirmed was that the resulting explosion deploying the airbag was the cause of death.
The name of the victim had not been released.
In a statement, Honda said that the airbag in the vehicle had been salvaged from a 2002 Honda Civic.
Federal law allows for airbag assemblies and other parts that may be under recall to be pulled out of wrecked cars and sold by junkyards. The auto shops buying the recalled parts may not even be aware of the danger.
The airbags faulty deployment set off the largest automotive recall in United States History, involving up to 69 million inflators and 42 million vehicles. Honda was Takata’s largest customer.
Takata filed for bankruptcy protection in both Japan and the United States back in June.
Have you been injured as the result of a faulty Takata airbag? You may have a case. Let the attorneys at the law offices of John Foy & Associates fight to get you the compensation you deserve. Call today.