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“We at Spivey Law Firm, Personal Injury Attorneys, P.A. are concerned about the potential danger to our citizens from defective Takata airbags. We urge everyone to take this threat very seriously and are providing information from NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) in this blog. Please heed the agency’s warnings and have your airbags repaired following the NHTSA recommendations,” said Fort Myers Defective Product Attorney, Randall Spivey. 

South Florida is part of the highest risk area of the country for exploding Takata airbags. On June 7, 2018, Heidi King, Deputy Administrator for NHTSA, urged Floridians to check their vehicle identification (VIN) numbers to see whether their vehicles are under a Takata airbag recall.

King said, “I am deeply concerned over the high number of unrepaired defective airbags in vehicles here in South Florida,” said King. “I cannot stress strongly enough the urgency of this recall – these airbags can be deadly. If your vehicle is under recall, do not delay in getting it to your dealer for a free repair. It could save your life or the life of someone you love.” 

NHTSA reminds everyone that the Takata airbag recall is the largest and most complex vehicle recall in U.S. history, involving 19 vehicle manufacturers, 37 million U.S. vehicles, and approximately 50 million air bags. In Broward and Miami-Dade Counties alone, there are nearly 459,000 vehicles with unrepaired airbags. 

How dangerous are the defective airbags? 

"In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the driver's frontal airbag, the metal canister filled with chemical ammonium nitrate in the inflator could rupture hurling hot metal fragments on the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death,” said NPR.org. 

Who is liable? 

In late February 2017, Japanese auto parts maker Takata Corp. pleaded guilty to one count of fraud and agreed to pay $1 billion for concealing a defect in millions of its airbag inflators. U.S. safety regulators say automakers are responsible for replacing defective airbags no matter what happens to Takata. 

NHTSA urges all drivers to stay informed and safe by taking these 5 actions: 

1. Visit gov to find out if your car or truck is under recall. Search using your Vehicle Identification Number (VIN). Your search result will tell you if your car or truck is included in this or any other safety recall at this time. Vehicles scheduled for future recalls will not show up in this search, so it is important that you check regularly, at least twice per year. 

2. If your vehicle does have a recall, call your local dealer to schedule a free repair. Just remember that in the Takata airbag recalls, there are priority groups; parts are only available for certain vehicles starting at certain dates. 

3. Sign up at Gov/Alerts to be notified by e-mail if your vehicle is affected by a future recall. 

4. Get answers to frequently asked questions at gov/recall-spotlight/takata-air-bags 

5. Help spread the word: Share NHTSA’s consumer fact sheet and video with friends and family. 

“If you or a loved one is injured in an accident, we are available 24/7 to assist you. There are no costs or attorney fees unless we make a monetary recovery for you,” said Attorney Spivey.

Fort Myers Defective Product Attorney, Southwest Florida Defective Products Attorney, Randall L. Spivey is a Board Certified Trial Attorney – the highest recognition for competence bestowed by the Florida Bar and a distinction earned by just one (1%) percent of Florida attorneys.  He has handled over 2,000 personal injury and wrongful death cases throughout Florida.  For a free and confidential consultation to discuss your legal rights, contact the Spivey Law Firm, Personal Injury Attorneys, P.A., in Lee County at 239.337.7483 or toll-free at 1.888.477.4839, or by email to Randall@SpiveyLaw.com.  Visit SpiveyLaw.com for more information.  You can contact Spivey Law Firm, Personal Injury Attorneys, P.A.in Charlotte County at 941.764.7748 and in Collier County at 239.793.7748.