Nissan recall of air bags may affect Tennessee consumers

People usually don’t head out to work with the anticipation of getting into a car accident. However, vehicle accidents often happen without notice, and having a functioning air bag can literally be the difference between life and death in a car crash. Consumers rely on vehicle companies to develop dependable air bags, but when a manufacturer has to issue a recall — not just once but twice in a recent situation — this can cause grave danger to consumers and lead to injuries or death in Tennessee.

In this recent case, Nissan recalled more than a million vans, cars and SUVs because the air bags in the front passenger seats did not inflate in a vehicle wreck. This is the company’s second time to recall these products. Vehicles from 2013 and 2014 are the ones affected, including the Sentra compact car, Pathfinder SUV, Leaf electric vehicle and Altima midsize sedan. Infiniti SUVs and Taxi vans also are affected by this recall.

The problem is that the company’s computer software may not be able to determine if an adult is in the passenger seat. As a result, the air bag will not deploy in a crash. The current recall is slated to begin in mid-April; the most recent one took place in Feb. 2013 for a similar issue. Three reports were made to Nissan regarding the failure of air bags to inflate, although no deaths have been linked to the problem.

A vehicle defect can cause problems because if it is not addressed soon enough, it can lead to incapacitating injuries or the loss of life. Even if a manufacturer has already announced a product recall, someone may have already been killed due to not having working air bags. In such a case, the family members of that deceased victim have the right to pursue compensation for monetary damages through a civil claim in Tennessee.

Source: Houston Chronicle, “Nissan recalls more than 1M vehicles for air bags”, , March 26, 2014