Ford – along with a host of other automakers – combined to form the largest collective recall in automotive history when it was discovered that faulty Takata airbag inflators were in fact dangerous. Years after Ford quit using Takata airbags in its vehicles, the automaker is still recalling affected models, as well as settling lawsuits valued at hundreds of millions of dollars. That doesn’t appear likely to end anytime soon, either, as a Texas-based Ford dealer and the automaker itself are now being sued over a 2007 Ford Mustang airbag-related injury, according to Automotive News.
The lawsuit alleges that a Houston-based passenger in the 2007 Ford Mustang was involved in a collision back in June of 2020, and suffered life-changing injuries as a result of its defective airbag. The Takata airbag in the vehicle reportedly “expelled metal shrapnel” into the passenger’s face, causing a number of injuries including the loss of her left eye.
The problem with this particular incident is the fact that the Mustang had already been taken in to Yaklin Ford in Richwood, Texas back in October 2018 to have two airbag inflator recalls performed on the vehicle. The lawsuit alleges that Yaklin only replaced the driver’s side airbag and not the passenger side unit, which led to the passenger sustaining these injuries. The lawsuit contends that Ford Motor Company itself is also liable in this case because “a recall is not an adequate substitute for a safe vehicle,” noting that Ford has “an absolute obligation to provide customers with a vehicle that was reasonably safe in crashes.”
On the flip side, Ford contends that the owner of the Mustang failed to act in a timely manner in terms of getting their vehicle repaired. “In this instance, Ford went to substantial lengths to have the inflator repaired, sending over 30 recall notices (before and after the failed dealer repair) to the registered owner and even sending a mobile repair unit to the owner’s home and knocking on the door,” Ford spokesperson Catherine Hargett told Automotive News.
We’ll have more on this and all pending Ford lawsuits soon, so be sure and subscribe to Ford Authority for more Ford lawsuit news, Ford Mustang news, and ongoing Ford news coverage.
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