What Does The Takata Bankruptcy Mean For Consumers

Consumers are concerned that they will be left out by Takata's decision to enter bankruptcy

Tuesday, April 24, 2018 - Facing insurmountable debts in the tens of billions of dollars and liabilities spiraling out of control, Japanese airbag maker Takata has filed for bankruptcy and agreed to be acquired by Chinese-owned Key Safety Systems in the US for $1.6 billion. The faulty Takata airbag system is at the root of Takata's demise and has prompted the largest motor vehicle consumer safety recall in US history covering 70 million faulty Takata airbags in the US. Currently, only 1/5 of the vehicles with Takata airbags have had the airbags replaced.

Consumers that fear that due to the Takata bankruptcy they will no longer be able to get their vehicle's airbag system replaced should not worry. Automakers will continue to make replacement airbags available to consumers uninterrupted by the bankruptcy. The Takata airbag recall is being conducted in phases. Older vehicles at the most risk of exploding are being recalled first. Automakers are responsible for the recall and will replace the faulty airbags. Automobile owners should place a simple phone call to their auto dealer to make an appointment and have the airbag replaced. Defective airbags will continue to be replaced and the recall program will continue through 2019 as originally planned. The Takata airbag recall is said will affect 120 million vehicles worldwide and 60 million in the US by the conclusion.

Takata's problems started over a decade ago when it was found that their airbag systems were prone to explode unexpectedly due to environmental conditions and send metal shards from the propellant canister through a vehicle's passenger cabin at the speed of 1/20 of a second. Malfunctioning Takata airbags have been linked to at least 20 deaths and possibly hundreds of serious injuries. Police are at a loss for explaining the injuries that kill a driver in a Takata airbag malfunction and usually assume that there has been a homicide. Serious injuries from Takata airbags include injuries to the eyes and blindness, broken teeth and facial bones, concussions and traumatic head injuries. Those who have suffered or the estates of those who have been killed by the defective Takata airbag can hire a Takata airbag attorney and sue for damages.

Not only has claims against the company and their faulty airbag system forced the company into bankruptcy, but also the top of executives of Takata could be sent to prison. In December 2017, three top executives at Takata, Shinichi Tanaka, Hideo Nakajima and Tsuneo Chikaraishi, were indicted by a grand jury, charged with and subsequently admitted to, fabricating test data to hide the catastrophic airbag defect. Takata has agreed to plead guilty to charges of wire fraud for providing the false data and fined $1 billion. The bulk of the $1 billion will be paid to assist auto dealers to comply with the recall and replace the faulty airbag systems.

Consumers should immediately check to see if their vehicle is subject to the recall by entering their vehicle identification number into the website: https://www.nhtsa.gov/recalls . If your vehicle is one of those affected, call your nearest automotive dealer and bring your vehicle in immediately. Your dealer should make another vehicle available to you immediately while yours is being repaired.

More Recent Takata Airbag Lawsuit News:

• Automakers Are Starting to Pay Cash Incentives To Those Who Refer Takata Airbag Repair Business | 3/11/2019
• Used Car Dealerships Are Responsible For The Millions of Vehicles That Have Not Complied With The Takata Airbag Recall | 3/8/2019
• Takata Executives Sold Shares Anticipating Bankruptcy Filing | 3/4/2019
• The NHTSA Recommends Airbag On/Off Switches in Some Vehicles | 2/28/2019
• More Reasons The Takata Airbag Recall is Not Succeeding | 2/24/2019
• Many Obstacles Stand In The Way of Effectively Replacing The Takata Airbag | 2/18/2019
• Millions of More Vehicles Were Added to the Takata Airbag Recall in February 2019 | 2/12/2019
• Takata Airbag Recall's Mixed Results | 2/5/2019
• 2018 and 2019 Hondas Are The Most At Risk For Airbag Theft | 1/31/2019
• January 2019 Kicks Off Another Expansion of the Takata Airbag Recall | 1/24/2019
• Automaker May Fail to Take Takata Airbag Recall Seriously | 1/21/2019
• General Motors Was Told That Takata Airbags Were Dangerous as Early as 1999 | 1/17/2019
• The Takata Airbag Recall Is Being Largely Ignored by Motor Vehicle Owners Ten Year In | 1/11/2019
• Ford Expands The Number of Vehicles Subject to the Takata Airbag Recall | 1/8/2019
• Toyota Offers Gift Card For Referring Takata Airbag Replacement Candidates | 1/2/2019
• General Motors Claims Their Takata Airbags Will Not Hurt You | 12/6/2018
• Add Mercedes-Benz to the Takata Airbag Recall That Continues To Be Ignored by Millions of Drivers | 12/3/2018
• Takata Airbag Disposal Presents Enoumous Challenge | 11/28/2018
• General Motors is Questioning The Takata Airbag Recall | 10/31/2018
• Takata Airbag Recall is Ever-Expanding | 10/26/2018
• Airbag Demand Spawns a New Criminal Enterprise | 10/16/2018
• Motor Vehicle Airbag Theft Increased 400 Percent in 2017 | 10/10/2018
• Countries With Hot Humid Climates Are in Great Risk For Takata Airbag Malfunctions | 10/3/2018
• Many Are At Fault For Takata Airbag Recall Failures | 9/28/2018
• An Urgent Motor Vehicle Recall Announcement To Owners of 2006 Ford Ranger and Mazda B-Series Pickups | 9/27/2018
• Auto Industry Whistle Blowers Can Save Lives | 9/26/2018
• Drivers May Be Ticketed For Failing To Comply With Motor Vehicle Recalls | 9/25/2018
• Congress Considering Automobile Safety Recall Bill | 9/22/2018
• The Twenty-Fifth Takata Airbag Death Has Been Reported | 9/19/2018
• Executives At Takata And The Major Automakers Knew Ammonium Nitrate Was Dangerous | 9/17/2018
• Recalling and Replacing All Takata Airbags MayTake Decades | 9/11/2018
• The NHTSA Is Under Fire For Mishandling The Takata Airbag Recall | 8/31/2018
• Highlights of The Takata Airbag Recall | 8/27/2018
• An Urgent Takata Airbag Recall Announcement To Owners of the 2006 Ford Ranger Pickup | 8/22/2018
• Takata's Airbag Recall is Expanding Worldwide | 8/16/2018
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• Motor Vehicle Manufacturers Are Urged to Use Facebook to Contact Takata Airbag-Related Vehicle Owners | 8/7/2018
• Using Facebook and Twitter to Get The Word Out About Exploding Takata Airbags and the Takata Recall | 8/3/2018
• Takata Executives Could Have Prevented 24 Deaths Yet Did Nothing | 7/31/2018
• The Department of Justice Holds the NHTSA Responsible for the Slow Pace of Takata Airbag Recalls | 7/27/2018
• Class Action Lawsuits Force Automakers to Take Greater Recall Measures | 7/25/2018
• Certain Cars and Trucks At Extreme Risk in Takata Airbag Recall | 7/23/2018
• South Floridians Need to Have Their Vehicle's Airbags Replaced | 7/20/2018
• Lawsuits Accuse Major Automobile Manufacturers of Takata Airbag Fraud | 7/18/2018
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• Mazda Issues Emergency Takata Airbags Vehicle Recall | 7/11/2018
• A Whistleblower Courage Can Save Lives | 7/6/2018
• Takata Airbag Recall Obstacles | 6/30/2018
• Post A Takata Airbag Warning to Your Facebook Page | 6/27/2018
• Automakers Knew of Defective Takata Airbags Back in 2003 | 6/25/2018
• Floridians Have The Highest Risk From Exploding Takata Airbags | 6/20/2018
• Why You Should Check The Takata Airbag Recall Status Of Your Vehicle | 6/14/2018
• Concern Growing For Takata Airbag Recall Compliance | 6/12/2018
• Takata Airbag Vehicle Recall Going Too Slowly For Some | 6/6/2018
• Takata Employee Whistle Blower Triggers Vehicle Recall | 5/30/2018
• The Takata Airbag Recall May Be Failing | 5/28/2018
• Check to See if Your Vehicle is Being Recalled | 5/22/2018
• The Takata Airbag Recall is Taking Longer Than Expected | 5/17/2018
• An Outline Of The Takata Airbag Scandal | 5/14/2018
• The Ongoing Takata Airbag Recall | 5/9/2018
• Takata Airbags Auto Recall Update May 2018 | 5/6/2018
• Defective Takata Airbags Prompt a Recall and Lawsuits | 5/2/2018
• Takata Defective Airbag Vehicle Recall Update | 4/10/2018
• Takata Airbag Victims Could Be Thousands More Than Reported | 4/5/2018
• Takata Airbag Recall Update | 4/2/2018
• Takata Executives Knew of the Defective Airbags | 3/29/2018
• Takata Corporation Airbag Lawsuits | 3/26/2018
• Takata Airbag Injuries | 3/21/2018
• The Defective Takata Airbag | 3/13/2018
• A Summary of the Takata Airbag Recall | 3/5/2018
• Takata Class Action Lawsuits Continue to Grow | 6/26/2017
• Exploding Takata Airbag Canisters Causes Injuries and Death | 6/19/2017
• Takata Airbag Malfunction and Who Can Sue | 6/12/2017
• Takata Executives Indicted for Falsifying or Discarding the Damaging Information | 6/5/2017

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Onder, Shelton, O'Leary & Peterson, LLC is a St. Louis personal injury law firm handling serious injury and death claims across the country. Its mission is the pursuit of justice, no matter how complex the case or strenuous the effort. Onder, Shelton, O'Leary & Peterson has represented clients throughout the United States in pharmaceutical and medical device litigation such as Pradaxa, Lexapro and Yasmin/Yaz, where the firm's attorneys held significant leadership roles in the litigation, as well as Actos, DePuy, Risperdal and others. The Onder Law Firm has won more than $300 million in four talcum powder ovarian cancer lawsuits in St. Louis. Law firms throughout the nation often seek its experience and expertise on complex litigation.