A court awarded a man 3 million US dollars over a car defect
5/6/2025 8:12:00 AM
A jury in the U.S. state of Florida has awarded $3 million in damages to a man named José Hernández, who suffered a severe injury due to a faulty airbag made by Japan’s Takata Corporation, following a car accident in Miami in 2020.
According to court documents, the incident occurred while Hernández was driving his 2005 Honda Civic and was struck by another vehicle as he attempted a left turn. Although the type of crash was not expected to result in serious injuries, the airbag inflator malfunctioned and exploded improperly, sending a several-inch-long metal shard into his right arm, causing significant injury.
Hernández filed a lawsuit in 2022 against the “Takata Airbag Tort Compensation Trust Fund,” an entity established as part of the company’s bankruptcy proceedings following one of the largest industrial scandals in automotive history.
Takata airbags are linked to at least 28 deaths in the U.S. and over 36 globally, with more than 400 injuries in America alone, according to regulatory bodies. The widespread recalls began in 2013 after it was found that the chemical used to inflate the airbags—ammonium nitrate—could degrade over time due to heat and humidity, causing the inflator to explode with excessive force and release shrapnel into the vehicle.
The ruling in favor of Hernández is part of ongoing efforts to compensate victims affected by the defect, which triggered a global crisis and led to the bankruptcy of the Japanese company.
According to court documents, the incident occurred while Hernández was driving his 2005 Honda Civic and was struck by another vehicle as he attempted a left turn. Although the type of crash was not expected to result in serious injuries, the airbag inflator malfunctioned and exploded improperly, sending a several-inch-long metal shard into his right arm, causing significant injury.
Hernández filed a lawsuit in 2022 against the “Takata Airbag Tort Compensation Trust Fund,” an entity established as part of the company’s bankruptcy proceedings following one of the largest industrial scandals in automotive history.
Takata airbags are linked to at least 28 deaths in the U.S. and over 36 globally, with more than 400 injuries in America alone, according to regulatory bodies. The widespread recalls began in 2013 after it was found that the chemical used to inflate the airbags—ammonium nitrate—could degrade over time due to heat and humidity, causing the inflator to explode with excessive force and release shrapnel into the vehicle.
The ruling in favor of Hernández is part of ongoing efforts to compensate victims affected by the defect, which triggered a global crisis and led to the bankruptcy of the Japanese company.