Takata Corp., a Japanese company, previously announced that over 30 million of its airbags were defective. The company was subsequently taken over by Joyson Safety Systems Japan (JSSJ). Numerous product liability claims were brought against Takata because its defective airbags caused harm and deaths to many drivers and passengers.

According to Consumer Notice, as of March 2019, at least 24 people died and 300 had been injured  worldwide due to defective air bags. Takata paid nearly $1 billion as part of a settlement with the US Justice Department to resolve the product liability claims.

Since the 2013 recall which affected 3.6 million vehicles, several other recalls have been issued increasing the total to 41.6 million affected vehicles – which have been fitted with 56 million Takata airbags. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimates that up to 70 million airbags may have been replaced by 2019. Some estimates place the defective airbag number at close to 100 million.

The new disclosure of defective airbags/seatbelts

JSSJ, according to an article in Claims Journal, recently “discovered that falsified production data at its Japanese seatbelt factory was used to pass safety standards for a European certification agency.” JSSJ, according to Japan’s Transport Ministry, also announced that JSSJ gave automakers faulty data about seatbelts “shipped from its factory in Hikone, Shiga Prefecture, which it took over from Takata in 2018.” As many as nine million seatbelts supplied by JSSJ to Japanese carmakers may be defective. Many of these vehicles were subsequently sold in America, including Tennessee.

JSSJ is owned by a Chinese company, Ningbo Joyson Electronic Corp. which acquired the bankrupt Takata in 2018. JSSJ leaned of the faulty inspection data at the Hikone factory back in April. Some of the data appears “to have been manipulated to pass product safety requirements imposed by the International Automotive Task Force, the Europe-based certification body.”

“U.S.-based Joyson Safety Systems, JSSJ’s immediate parent, dominates about 30% of the global seatbelt market.” The company competes with other seatbelt companies based in Sweden and Germany.

JSSJ, the American company, states through representatives, it believes the faulty data occurred long before they took over the Takata plan in April 2018.

At Delius & McKenzie, PLLC, our Sevierville product liability lawyers work with product safety experts to help prove cars, trucks, medications, children’s products, and other goods are defective. We file strict liability claims against the manufacturers, distributors, and retailers for your pain and suffering, lost income, and all your medical expenses. If a product defect injured you or killed a loved one, call (865) 428-8780 or fill out our contact form to schedule an appointment. We represent injury victims – in Sevierville, Seymour, Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge, and the surrounding Tennessee areas.