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Takata Airbag Recall Deaths – How many? And How many more?


Takata Airbag Recall Deaths – How many? And How many more?

June, 2015

Dear Care for Crash Victims Community Members:

Important questionsraised:  How many deaths have occurred and how many more will occur before all defective airbags are replaced?

A lawsuit has been filed on a recent tragedy.

“The mother of a Lafayette woman killed in an April accident on Johnston Street has filed suit against Honda Motor Company and the maker of an air bag installed in Kylan Rae Langlinais’ 2005 Civic, claiming the companies knew years ago the air bag was defective and prone to spraying deadly shrapnel during a crash.

Langlinais died April 9 in a Lafayette hospital, four days after she drove her Honda into a utility pole in the 2000 block of Johnston Street.

Langlinais, who was one month shy of turning 23, was the only person involved in the 4 a.m. accident.

Kenneth St. Pé, one of two attorneys for the Langlinais family, saidTuesday the death was made doubly tragic when the recall notice for the Takata Corporation air bag system arrived in Langlinais’ mailbox two days after the crash, while she was lying in a hospital bed. She died two days after getting the notice.

St. Pé said the only serious injury that doctors who examined Langlinais could find was a severed carotid artery. That injury was consistent with other victims whose Takata air bags exploded and sent bits of metal flying, he said.

Related Documents

  • Air bag lawsuit

“As a result, (Langlinais) sustained a penetrating injury to the right side of her neck, causing an immediate and profuse loss of blood,” the lawsuit states….

St. Pé said the number of deaths caused by the air bags might be more than the numbers cited in studies.

“It makes you wonder how many people have died at the scene of the accident from injuries like this that don’t get to the hospital. The doctors don’t look at them, and nobody does an autopsy.” St. Pé said. “They just figured they died in a car wreck.”  See

http://theadvocate.com/news/12603876-123/lafayette-mother-files-lawsuit-against

Lou

 

Changes at DOT & NHTSA


Changes at DOT & NHTSA

June, 2015

Dear Care for Crash Victims Community Members:

The NY Times reports:

Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx acknowledged on Friday that there were “deficits” in the investigative process at the safety agency and “room for self-improvement” in how the government regulates the safety of autos.

“We have taken a set of actions that will aid in improving the effectiveness of N.H.T.S.A.,” Mr. Foxx said in a conference call with reporters.

The admissions drew sharp responses from members of Congress who have been critical of the government’s inability for years to recognize that defective ignition switches in G.M. cars could suddenly cut engine power and disable airbags, putting occupants at risk of death or serious injury.

“There needs to be a complete overhaul of this failing agency,” said Senator Richard Blumenthal, Democrat of Connecticut. “The results of this report are long overdue.”….

“The agency will also adopt a “risk control” program that better aligns various departments and encourages more sharing of safety information.

It also proposed a formal process to reach out to lawyers who represent accident victims, partly to make government investigators aware of secret settlements between automakers and litigants on safety issues….

“One safety advocate argued that the changes made by safety agency did not go far enough, and urged the agency to open up investigative reports to the public.

“It still soft-pedals why they have gone from one defect crisis to another,” said Sean E. Kane of the consulting firm Safety Research and Strategies. “What is missing is any mention of the importance of transparency.”

Friday’s reports do not conclude scrutiny of the agency’s handling of the defect, however. The Transportation Department inspector general has been conducting its own examination and results are expected later this month.

For one family tragically affected by the G.M. defect, the reports did bring some sense of closure.

“From Day 1 I said, isn’t N.H.T.S.A. just as guilty as General Motors is?” said Ken Rimer, stepfather of Natasha Weigel, who died in the Wisconsin crash highlighted in the reports. “It’s terrific they are finally owning up to their mistakes.”  See  http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/06/business/nhtsa-admits-missing-clues-to-gm-ignition-defects.html?mabReward=CTM&moduleDetail=recommendations-2&action=click&contentCollection=Sports&region=Footer&module=WhatsNext&version=WhatsNext&contentID=WhatsNext&configSection=article&isLoggedIn=false&src=recg&pgtype=article

Consumer Affairs reports:

“The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) today released two reports outlining their,plans for tougher oversight and identifying shortcomings in its own efforts.

But nothing drew more gasps than the revelation that DOT and NHTSA would be consulting with personal injury lawyers, who often find and document safety hazards long before they come to NHTSA’s attention.

In fact, lawyers who specialize in auto accidents and product liability already have their own informal but highly sophisticated,networks that share data the attorneys collect as they build evidence against automakers. In many cases, records are sealed after a trial ends in an out-of-court settlement, especially those involving huge damage awards arising from injuries caused by safety defects, so the information is never made public….

“On Capitol Hill, Sens. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) said the NHTSA must resolve to prevent future tragedies like the GM ignition switch debacle.

“We are pleased that NHTSA has acknowledged neglecting critical information that should have moved it to take action much earlier on faulty GM ignition switches that were killing drivers and passengers for years. Unfortunately, for more than a decade, NHTSA failed to address the information and evidence it had in its own database linking defective ignition switch to fatal accidents,” the senators said in a joint statement.

“It is incumbent upon Administrator Rosekind to put in place permanent measures necessary to prevent another tragedy like this from ever happening again. Those measures must include a requirement that the types of secret documents that NHTSA had access to are made public, and the enactment of our legislation that requires more information to be reported to NHTSA’s Early Warning Reporting database when auto manufacturers first become aware of incidents involving fatalities.”

The two have introduced legislation that they say would ensure more transparency and earlier reporting of safety issues to prevent auto injuries and fatalities.

The legislation, the Early Warning Reporting System Improvement Act, would require NHTSA make the information it receives from auto manufacturers publicly available in a searchable, user-friendly format so that consumers and independent safety experts can evaluate potential safety defects themselves.”  

See 

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news/feds-vow-tougher-scrutiny-of-automakers-safety-efforts-may-collaborate-with-personal-injury-lawyers-060515.html

NHTSA Release and Documents are attached

and at

http://www.nhtsa.gov/About+NHTSA/Press+Releases/nhtsa-forming-new-safety-teams

Lou

 

Failures at NHTSA, Tragedies Continue


Failures at NHTSA, Tragedies Continue

June, 2015

Dear Care for Crash Victims Community Members:

The NY Times has an excellent article on the forthcoming DOT IG Report on NHTSA failures.    

“Even as evidence poured into the nation’s top auto safety agency pointing to dangerous defects in millions of vehicles, regulators repeatedly failed for years to root out problems and hold carmakers accountable, according to a long-awaited internal audit by the Transportation Department.

The bluntly worded report, ordered last year after General Motors began recalling 2.6 million cars with a defective ignition switch, paints a bleak portrait of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the agency charged with overseeing safety in the auto industry.

The agency had weak management, undertrained staff and insufficient processes in place to properly review safety data submitted by automakers and complaints submitted by drivers, the report by the Transportation Department’s inspector general found. Repeatedly, investigators missed opportunities to identify that the ignition switch was prone to turn off, shutting down the engine and disabling systems like power steering and the airbags. At least 114 deaths have been linked to the defect. And the agency’s shortcomings extended to other problems as well.

Ultimately, the report said, the agency’s systemic failings “deter N.H.T.S.A. from successfully meeting the mandate to help prevent crashes and their attendant costs, both human and financial.””

See http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/20/business/federal-auditor-finds-broad-failures-at-nhtsa.html?ref=business

The public evidence of NHTSA captivity grows as tragedies mount.

 

See also:

Lou

 

How Many More Will Die Before Election Day 2016? Who will ask the candidates?


How Many More Will Die Before Election Day 2016? Who will ask the candidates?

June, 2015

Dear Care for Crash Victims Community Members:

As of July 1, 2015 there were 496 days left until Election Day 2016. 

At the 2014 NHTSA counted rate of 90 people dying of crash injuries per day, America is on track to suffer nearly 45,000 more crash deaths during this election season.  And about 1,000 will be children under the age of 15.  See http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/812160.pdf In reality the number will be closer to 50,000 more American crash deaths.  That is close to the number of American deaths in the Viet Nam War.  See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_military_casualties_of_war

Remember that NHTSA systematically under-counts crash deaths by about 10 per day.  See https://www.careforcrashvictims.com/blog-officerdies.php

Estimating the number of Americans that will suffer serious crash injuries before Election Day 2016 to be close to 200,000 Americans, we find that number exceeds the number wounded in the Viet Nam War.
Now how many editors, reporters, and moderators will ask the Presidential candidates their goals and plans to end this toll of crash deaths and injuries in America?
Lou

 

USA Today Editorial Calls on Congress To Do More on Auto Safety


USA Today Editorial Calls on Congress To Do More on Auto Safety

June, 2015

Dear Care for Crash Victims Community Members:

USA Today properly focuses on Congress to protect people in America.

See http://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2015/06/15/nhtsa-auto-safety-defect-airbag-gm-editorials-debates/71206984/

Please read it and comment.

Lou

 

Chrysler Jeep Recall – FCA Delivers Information to NHTSA


Chrysler Jeep Recall – FCA Delivers Information to NHTSA

June, 2015

Dear Care for Crash Victims Community Members:

See latest report and the video by CBS News:

“The release of information comes ahead of a July 2nd public hearing, also demanded by NHTSA, during which federal safety regulators, representatives of the automaker and members of the public will be allowed to testify about FCA’s performance in each of the recalls — a performance that has already drawn less than stellar reviews.

NHTSA has complained that FCA’s recall completion rates have been too low, in one case only 4 percent of recalled vehicles had been repaired after the recall had been in effect for nearly two years. Fiat Chrysler even admitted in a letter to its dealerships that certain recall completion rates had not met expectations.

“It is not enough to identify defects,” said NHTSA Administrator Mark Rosekind. “Manufacturers have to fix them.”

His agency has expressed substantial concerns about the “significant safety hazards posed to consumers” in connection with Fiat Chrysler’s execution of its recalls. Automobile safety advocates go even further.

“People are dying and Chrysler is stalling,” said Clarence Ditlow, Executive Director of the Center for Auto Safety….”  

“NHTSA should impose the maximum possible civil fine under the law,” said Ditlow. “The Justice Department should prosecute Chrysler and its responsible executives for criminal homicide for any deaths due to the delay in carrying out this recall.”

Before the Jeep recalls were issued, government figures put the death toll from fires in rear impact collisions at more than 50 people. The family of one victim, 4-year-old Remington Walden, sued Chrysler. In April, a Georgia jury ruled against the car company, awarding Walden’s family $150 million. Shortly thereafter, Chrysler filed a motion appealing the verdict. The automaker maintains that the vehicles are not defective and that they met all safety standards in place when they were produced.

Walden family attorney, Jim Butler, disagrees. He alleges Chrysler knew for years there was a problem with the rear fuel tanks on older model Jeeps. He says the company also knew trailer-hitches, the fix covered under the recall, wouldn’t protect the gas tanks.

“The real issue is not FCA’s dawdling on making the so-called ‘repair’; the real issue is the proposed ‘repair’ is a total fraud,” Butler said pointing, as proof, to a deposition from one of Chrysler’s own engineers saying a trailer-hitch would not protect the gas tank on the affected Jeep models.”  Seehttp://www.cbsnews.com/news/fiat-chrysler-answers-criticism-surrounding-handling-of-recalls/

Lou

 

Crash Victims Get Hope From NHTSA Administrator Rosekind


Crash Victims Get Hope From NHTSA Administrator Rosekind

June, 2015

Dear Care for Crash Victims Community Members:

The most hopeful NHTSA news for crash victims that I have seen since retiring in 2007 was reported by Automotive News.

“WASHINGTON — The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration will soon have some fresh faces in key recall positions as part of an agency reorganization intended to streamline its management structure.

According to sources here and job openings posted on the U.S Department of Transportation’s website, the agency is preparing the reorganization to follow the retirement or departure of three key officials who have overseen recalls at the agency.

n Kevin Vincent, NHTSA’s chief counsel, has been transferred to the DOT’s office of general counsel.

n Daniel Smith, senior associate administrator for vehicle safety, plans to retire in June.

n Nancy Lewis, associate administrator for enforcement, retired this spring.

Selecting their replacements gives NHTSA Administrator Mark Rosekind an opportunity to continue to put his stamp on the agency in a way that could outlast his tenure as administrator. The three departing officials have played major roles in recent high-profile enforcement cases, including the defective General Motors ignition switch and defective Takata airbag recalls.”  See

http://www.autonews.com/article/20150601/OEM11/306019965/nhtsa-prepares-to-reorganize-its-senior-ranks

It’s more than about time.  It is about tragedies without end for too many Americans, for too long.  It is about freeing NHTSA from decades of corporate captivity that gives hope for a Safer America.  See

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/29/opinion/weak-oversight-deadly-cars.htmlInline image 1

____________________

Hopefully we now will see policies for a reduction in the nearly 100 crash deaths per day, plus 400 serious crash injuries, and $2 Billion in losses every day in America.
Lou