Cars are such an integral and important part of the lives of modern-day Billings, Montana, residents and nearly all Americans that it is important for cars to be as safe as possible. To ensure greater passenger safety, all cars sold in America must be equipped with airbags which help prevent head and neck injury in a head-on accident. However, when an airbag is faulty, the consequences can be injurious or deadly, as was the case for eight victims worldwide, seven of whom were in the United States.
According to news reports, these eight victims died when faulty airbags manufactured by the Takata Corporation, a supplier of airbags to some of the world's leading automobile manufacturers, exploded and sent debris flying into passengers' faces and bodies. Reports stated that seven people were killed by this airbag malfunction in the United States and one person was killed in Malaysia. The reports also mention that as many as 34 million, or one in seven vehicles in the United States have these faulty airbags.
Due to these deaths and massive recalls to fix the faulty airbags, the head of Takata Corporation issued a formal apology for the numerous injuries and deaths caused by those airbags. Interestingly, the apology comes after U.S. Congressional investigators accused the company of ignoring repeated warnings about the faulty airbags and delaying critical safety inspections because of the high cost of these inspections.
The Takata faulty airbag case is an example of how defective auto parts and the subsequent negligence about consumer safety can lead to injuries and even death. Montana residents, if affected in a similar incident, have the right to take legal actions against a manufacturer. However, legal action against a big corporation may not be easy so it may be helpful if victims choose to retain experienced attorneys to represent them in a product liability case.