States Allow $650 Million Takata Settlement Agreement to Help Victims of Airbag Injuries

A $650 million Takata settlement agreement has been reached  between the airbag company and 44 states plus the District of Columbia. The Japanese company filed for bankruptcy several months ago, though, which will prevent most of that money from ever materializing.

The states said they would forgo collecting on any of the money to allow victims of Takata’s dangerous airbags to obtain more of the funds due them. Only the state of South Carolina will collect $139,000, which will just cover the costs needed to conduct the investigation.

Takata allegedly hid the safety issues with its airbag inflators that have resulted in 22 deaths and more than 1,880 injuries around the world. Click here to see the list of vehicles covered by the recall.

The defective airbag inflator consists of a metal cartridge filled with ammonium nitrate, a propellant used to make some kinds of bombs. The ammonium nitrate is supposed to create a small, controlled explosion that allows the airbag to inflate safely and quickly.

The defective airbag inflator causes the airbag to burst forth with too much force, resulting in pieces of the metal cartridge ripping apart and flying towards the driver and passenger at a high speed.

One of the components that helps control the force of the airbag’s deployment is a drying agent. In many cases of the faulty parts, the amount of the drying agent is inadequate or the ammonium nitrate has dangerously degraded from heat and humidity.

Takata Settlement Agreement Affects Millions

More than 37 million vehicles have been sold or leased that contain the defective Takata airbags. Takata originally was going to cover the cost of replacing the defective components, but the company filed for bankruptcy.

Takata’s reorganization plan was approved in late February in a federal bankruptcy court in Delaware. Part of that plan is to sell the majority of its assets that are not part of the airbag industry to a competitor in China for a reported $1.6 billion.

The Takata settlement agreement prioritizes taking care of the needs of the injured consumers.

In addition, the Takata settlement agreement forbids the company from saying its airbags are safe unless it provides scientific proof. Takata is prohibited from falsifying any data showing airbags have passed tests, and the company must continue to supply automakers with safe replacement inflators.

None of the airbags Takata sells will contain ammonium nitrate unless the parts are to be used as recall replacements.

The Takata settlement agreement is in addition to the criminal plea agreement that resulted in Takata promising to pay $125 million to victims and $850 million to vehicle manufacturers. The latter is restitution for the purchase of inflators that were recalled and for the resulting litigation expenses.

Were You Affected by the Takata Airbag Defect?

The Takata airbag recall affects over 37 million vehicles sold or leased under dozens of different brands, including:

• Acura
• Audi
• BMW
• Cadillac
• Chevrolet
• Chrysler
• Daimler
• Sprinter
• Sterling Bullet
• Ferrari
• Dodge/Ram
• Fisker
• Ford
• GMC
• Honda
• Infiniti
• Jaguar
• Jeep
• Land Rover
• Lexus
• Lincoln
• Mazda
• McLaren
• Mercedes-Benz
• Mercury
• Mitsubishi
• Nissan
• Pontiac
• Saab
• Saturn
• Scion
• Subaru
• Tesla
• Toyota
• Volkswagen

If you have owned or leased a vehicle under any of the brands above, you may qualify to file your own airbag lawsuit or Takata class action lawsuit.
You can find a full list of makes, models and model years on our Defective Airbag Recall Investigation Page.

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