As General Motors and BMW are recalling their cars in the U.S. for known glitches, Honda in turn is recalling 4.5 million of their cars for exploding airbags. The faulty airbags of the Japanese auto manufacturer have been linked to eight deaths around the world.
The defect is suspected to have something to do with the chemical propellant inflating the airbags. The propellant triggers the bags to blow up with excessive force, hurtling metal shrapnels like a grenade that can prove fatal to drivers and passengers.
A Los Angeles woman was said to be its latest victim according to Times Live. The victim died last year due to a defective inflator in her 2001 Civic that ruptured and fired metal shards at her. Research indicated that ammonium nitrate was a factor in the ruptures.
U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal had asked for the compensation fund pursuant to what General Motors did for their defective ignition switches that also claimed lives.
Carcomplaints.com reported however, that the airbag manufacturer will not create a compensation fund for the victims. Takata said that the fund was not necessary as they have been taking care of the victims on an individual basis.
The Economic Times said that Blumenthal found the company's response unacceptable and added that Takata seems unwilling to acknowledge its responsibility to help the victims and their love ones.
Takata spokesman Jared Levy said that Takata is committed to treating fairly anyone injured as a result of an inflater rupture, and that they have settled a number of injury claims and will continue to do so based on the facts and circumstances of individual cases.
Takata faced a $14,000 a day fine from U.S. safety regulators to pressure the Japanese company to supply documentation on internal probes into their airbag problems that dates back more than a decade.
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