Takata Corporation confirmed that a Florida suit over Takata air bags settled recently. The suit pertained to Patricia Mincey and her 2001 Honda Civic. Ms. Mincey was involved in an accident in June 2014, during which her Takata air bag deployed with excessive force, leaving her a quadriplegic. Ms. Mincey passed away in April after almost two years in the hospital. She was 77.
Takata Corporation confirmed that a Florida suit over Takata air bags settled recently. The suit pertained to Patricia Mincey and her 2001 Honda Civic. Ms. Mincey was involved in an accident in June 2014, during which her Takata air bag deployed with excessive force, leaving her a quadriplegic. Ms. Mincey passed away in April after almost two years in the hospital. She was 77.
The settlement, terms of which will not be released, came just before a judge in Duval County Circuit Court would have ruled on whether Takata’s CEO, Shigehisa Takada, would have to submit to a deposition. As part of the settlement, the plaintiff, Kelly Sims, Ms. Mincey’s daughter, dropped the request.
According to Ted Leopold of Cohen Milstein, Ms. Sims’ attorney, it would have been “the first time he’s ever had to answer questions on this publicly.” Mr. Leopold also said that Takada’s deposition would “ensure the full and complete story is known to the public.” However, that won’t happen now.
Mr. Leopold added, “I think the family is very pleased that there was a full measure of justice in these proceedings and looks forward to moving on with their lives.” Ms. Mincey’s family settled with Honda in early 2016.
Court records state that the Takata air bag in Ms. Mincey’s vehicle didn’t rupture, as many others have, but rather, it deployed with excessive force. One of the claims in the suit alleged that Honda and Takata hid the “potential overpowered deployment from consumers for more than a decade.”
To date, almost 100M Takata air bag inflators worldwide have been deemed unsafe. Manufacturers plan to recall between 35-40M additional vehicles in the U.S. by 2019. Until this report in May, 24M U.S. vehicles had been recalled by 14 different manufacturers.
Join the conversation!