Joyson Airbags Spontaneous Inflation Defect Class Action

The largest US auto recall involved defective Takata airbag inflators that caused injuries and deaths. This class action bring suit against Takata’s successor-in-interest, Key Safety Systems, Inc. doing business as Joyson Safety Systems, for a similar defect in Joyson airbags. The airbags in question are installed in the roof rails of certain General Motors trucks and the side rails of certain FCA trucks, although it’s possible they involve other vehicles as well.

After Takata filed for bankruptcy in 2017, Joyson bought its assets. The defendants in this case include three General Motors entities (General Motors Company, General Motors Holdings, LLC, and General Motors, LLC), FCA US, LLC, and Joyson.

Airbag inflators normally go into operation directly after a vehicle impact, the complaint says, as the inflator ignites a propellant to produce gas that is released into the airbag cushion, causing the airbag cushion to expand and deploy.”

However, according to the complaint, “corrosion inside the inflator vessel of the airbags, caused by moisture introduced into the vessel during Joyson’s manufacturing process” makes the airbags defective: They “may spontaneously explode, and may injure drivers and passengers.” The complaint claims, “As of August 2021, Joyson airbags have been involved in three recalls because of the Inflator Defect.”

The complaint describes the operation of an airbag in detail, then alleges, “If an airbag deploys in the event of no collision, occupants are assaulted with an airbag inflating at 200 mph in 1/25th of a second and may [be] bombarded with shrapnel.”

The complaint alleges that Joyson knew or should have known about the defect, given Takata’s history with the same problem. Also the defective airbags at issue in this case were made in Mexico, as were the defective Takata airbags.

The complaint alleges, “Despite the shocking record of airbag failures, injuries, and deaths caused by Joyson’s predecessor, Takata, [General Motors and FCA] failed to adequately test the Defective Airbags [and] to fully investigate the problem, and have been slow to issue recalls.”

The Nationwide Class for this action is all persons and entities that bought or leased a Class Vehicle in the US, including its territories. State classes have also been defined for New Jersey and Missouri, for those who bought or leased Class Vehicles in those states.

• The Class Vehicles are all vehicles in the US that (1) were equipped with Defective Airbags (see below) as part of their original equipment and (2) were made, distributed, sold, or leased by the GM companies or FCA.
• The Defective Airbags are all airbag modules made by Joyson, including (1) all airbags that have the Inflator Defect, (2) all airbags subject to the recalls in the chart on page 11 of the complaint, and (3) all airbags made by Joyson that are subject to subsequent expansions of earlier recalls or to new recalls, relating to the tendency of the airbags to spontaneously deploy or explode, that are announced before the class in this case is certified.

Article Type: Lawsuit
Topic: Automobile
Tags: Defective Airbags, Defective Automobile