The New Jersey car accident attorneys at Breslin and Breslin are reporting that the Japanese carmaker Toyota filed late Monday to add more than 1.5 million of its American-owned vehicles to “the largest and most complex safety recall in U.S. history.”
The recall sparked by a fault in the Japanese airbag inflaters last year has since been linked to more than 100 injuries in the United States and at least 10 deaths worldwide, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
An industry wide recall of 28.8 million airbags was issued by the agency in May of 2015 affecting one of seven cars driving around America at that time.
That number swelled to close to 70 million earlier this month after the NHTSA expanded the order to replace all Takata ammonium nitrate-based inflators by 2019.
The airbags will be replaced in five recall phases based on the level of risk, which is determined by three factors: an inflator’s exposure high humidity and changing temperatures as well as the defective part’s age.
“NHTSA’s aggressive actions in 2015 means this recall is already a year ahead of where it would have been if the agency had waited for this research,” said NHTSA Administrator Mark Rosekind. “As a result, all of the most dangerous inflators responsible for the deaths and injuries are already under recall.”
Toyota announced Monday its recall phases arranged by three geographic zones, which were structured by the NHTSA’s risk factors.
New Jersey drivers with Toyotas, Scions or Lexuses fall into the Zone B of this recall. The affect models are 2007-2008 Yaris Hatchback and Sedan as well as 2008 Scion xB. It also includes Lexus models including 2006-2008 IS250/IS350, 2007-2008 ES350 and 2008 IS-F.
If you or a loved one has been injured by a Takata airbag, you may be eligible for compensation. Contact Breslin and Breslin today for a free case evaluation.
