Takata starts compensation payments to inflator victims

The ones who were driving the cars manufactured by Takata with faulty airbags will receive nearly $9.8 million (RM41 million) collectively in the form of a compensation fund. According to The Detroit News, a portion of the auto components supplier’s guilty plea for the generation of airbag inflators which have been found to inflate with extreme force, with damages and deaths resulting. 

The initial round of payments going to 102 beneficiaries would range from $643.40 (RM2,693.70) up to $608,013 (RM2.5 million), announced the United States District Court in the eastern district of Michigan as said by the news site. The payments were estimated from a formula which granted points worth $64.34 each to the driver who registered claims for damages sustained from faulty Takata airbags.

A recall operation for the Japanese parts manufacturer’s airbags in February this year discovered a further 1.7 million cars with defective inflators including brands such as Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Subaru, Volkswagen, and Audi. In Malaysia, over 500,000 vehicles have been discovered to possess defective Takata inflators as of October last year.

The points were granted by a specific master to supervise the compensation fund, based on “injury categories in an injury valuation matrix and certain other factors”, according to the report. According to the National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration, recalls for Takata airbags have covered nearly 13% of all registered cars in the US, where defective Takata inflators have been associated to 16 deaths and more than 25 injuries.

The propellant employed by the defective inflators can become unpredictable over time and explode, throwing metal shrapnel in the direction of passengers and drivers, which can cause severe injuries and can even cause death.