The recent winter weather that has come through Oklahoma, and many other parts of the country, made the roadways slippery and difficult to travel. This is a reminder that driving can be dangerous enough as it is, even when people are devoting their full attention to the road. While modern automobiles are equipped with a variety of safety features to help protect their occupants from these dangers, sometimes these mechanisms are not foolproof.
In the case of airbags manufactured by Takata Corp., drivers and their passengers may be endangered by the very safety features that are designed to save their lives. People in the Ponca City area are probably aware of this ongoing story involving Takata airbags. For many months now, millions of vehicles throughout the country have been subject to recall because they have Takata airbags.
The problem with Takata's airbags is that they can spew metal shrapnel when inflating. So far, nearly 70 million motor vehicles in the U.S. have been recalled due to the possibility of the airbags inflicting catastrophic injuries on people. Recently, Toyota Motor Corp. announced that it added roughly 543,000 more vehicles to the recall list. That list includes certain models of SUVs that the company manufactured between 2006 and 2012.
Because of the many auto manufacturers that used Takata airbags, and the millions of vehicles involved in the recall, it could take Toyota and the other implicated companies years to fix the SUVs and other vehicles involved.
When a defective auto harms a driver or passenger, the victims may be able to pursue a legal cause of action to get compensation for medical expenses and other damages. The problematic Takata airbags have already caused at least 16 deaths and about 180 injuries. People in Oklahoma who suffer injuries from these airbags, or from any other kind of automobile defect, should consider researching their legal options.
Source: Newson6.com, "Toyota adds 543,000 vehicles to Takata air bag recalls," Jan. 13, 2017
