Takata has recently been fined $70 million by the U.S. Auto Safety Regulators, but that fine could increase to as much as $200 million for its defective airbags. This comes after reports of 7 deaths and as many as 100 injuries to occupants of cars with Takata airbags. Takata has also admitted that it knew the inflators were defective, but failed to recall them in a timely manner. The airbags had a tendency to spew shrapnel into both drivers and passengers. So far, about 23 million driver and passenger inflators have been recalled on 19 million U.S. vehicles sold by 12 automakers.
This got us thinking; Both Takata and Volkswagen have recently been fined millions of dollars in the wake of scandals involving shortcuts. They have taken shortcuts that put all of us in harm’s way purely to increase corporate profits and returns to investors. As a nation, how do we stop this shortsightedness and hold these corporations responsible for their wrongdoing?
Injured as a result of a defective or faulty product? Contact Maring Williams Law Office today for a free consult.