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Reports of injuries due to unintended airbag deployments has forced the Ford Motor Co. to recall 1.33 million of its popular F-150 pickup trucks. The number could eventually reach beyond one million vehicles.
The airbags deploy with explosive force, causing injuries, but also can cover a driver’s face and result in possible accidents.
Several unwanted deployments occurred while drivers were entering or exiting highways, according to reports.
If you or a loved one was seriously injured by a faulty airbag or was hurt in an auto accident resulting from an inadvertent airbag deployment, you should contact an airbag attorney for a free evaluation of your case.
Kline & Specter, PC, with some 30 attorneys, several of whom are also doctors, is uniquely qualified to investigate and litigate product liability cases involving defective automobiles. The firm has won major settlements and verdicts – including one for $153 million – against Ford Motor Co. (See the White, Blumer)
The recent Ford airbag recall came at the request of The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which sought the recall of 1.3 million vehicles. Ford instead agreed to recall only 135,000 trucks in the United States and 9,000 in Canada that were manufactured between November 2004 and June 2005 at Ford's Norfolk, Va., assembly plant. The company said the rate of unwanted airbag deployments for those trucks was many times higher than for other trucks.
NHTSA will have to decide if it is satisfied with the partial recall. It noted that unwanted airbag deployments occurred in F-150 trucks made at other plants and that by November 2010 it had recorded 238 incidents with 77 injuries.
According to reports, the problem is caused by an improperly placed wire in the steering wheel, causing insulation to rub off and resulting in a short circuit and inadvertent deployment. Ford changed the assembly in January 2006 to fix the problem.
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Kline & Specter handles cases in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York and Nationwide, working with local attorneys in states outside PA, NJ and NY.
