Our Blog

F-150 Recall, Danger Of Inadvertent Air Bag Deployment

F-150 Recall, Danger Of Inadvertent Air Bag Deployment

Known to South Carolina personal injury lawyers, and the rest of the country for that matter, as the best-selling vehicle in America, the F-series pickup truck produced by Ford Motor Co., has come under pressure from regulators in Washington.

Last Wednesday, Ford announced it would recall 150,000 F-150 pickup trucks to repair air bags that could deploy without warning. The government contends a fraction of which should be called back and repaired. The recall covers trucks from the 2005-2006 model years in the United States and Canada, for what Ford calls a “relatively low risk” of the air bag inadvertently deploying.

By contrast, the government has urged Ford Motor Co. to recall 1.3 million F-150s from the 2004-2006 model years, citing 77 known injuries from accidental deployment of an air bar. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has been investigating this issue for more than a year.

Back in May, Ford told the government that the defective products causing air bag deployment didn’t “present an unreasonable risk to vehicle safety” because of the low rate of alleged injuries and that the air bag warning lamp provided an “obvious warning” to owners and operators. Burn injuries from contact with the air bag, bruises, back and neck injuries, and minor cuts were among the reported harms caused by the unintentional deployment, according to the auto manufacturer.

A striking majority of the complaints involved trucks built during the first shift of production, November 2004 through June 2005, at the Norfolk, Virginia assembly plant. The rates of air bag accidents were much higher in those pickups built at the Virginia plant than those assembled at Ford’s other plants in Missouri and Michigan.

The contents of this Web site are for informational purposes regarding legal issues in South Carolina and are not intended to convey detailed legal advice on specific issues. Transmission of the information contained in this site or any sites linked hereto is not intended to create, and receipt does not constitute an attorney-client relationship. Our attorneys practice law only in jurisdictions we are properly authorized to do so and do not seek to represent anyone in any jurisdiction where this site does not comply with applicable laws and bar rules. The lawyers of the law firm of Christmas Injury Lawyers are licensed to practice law in the State of South Carolina. Readers should not act upon the information contained in this site without first seeking the advice of an attorney licensed to practice in your area.

Attorneys principally practice in Mt. Pleasant office, but we will meet you at the time and office most convenient to you. We will also come to your hospital room or home upon request.

The information given above are examples of actual cases with actual clients our law firm has handled in the past. The reviews listed on our website are endorsements and/or testimonials from actual clients. Any results our law firm may achieve on behalf of one client in one matter does not necessarily indicate similar results can be obtained for other clients.