ARC Airbag Inflator Lawsuit

Sadly, a potentially dangerous vehicle defect affecting front airbags in at least 30 million vehicles is being investigated as the possible cause of at least two deaths and several severe injuries in the U.S. and Canada. Impacted vehicles contain an ARC Automotive, Inc. manufactured airbag inflator that may over pressurize when deployed, causing the inflator to rupture, endangering everyone in the vehicle. The alleged defect affects certain vehicles manufactured by automakers including: 

• Audi
• BMW
• Fiat Chrysler Automobiles 
• Ford
• General Motors
• Hyundai 
• Kia
• Mercedes
• Volkswagen

Download the vehicle list to see the make, model and years.

Contact a catastrophic personal injury lawyer

If you suspect that you or someone you love was seriously injured due to a defective airbag, you may have legal rights. You may contact Motley Rice attorney Kevin Dean at 1.800.869.2424 or by completing this webform for more information.

Defective ARC airbag inflator background 

We believe a defect in the friction welding process used to assemble the ARC airbag inflators causes excess flash or waste material to form at a specific weld location in the inflators. Analysis shows that when the airbags deploy this flash may break free from the weld and if large enough block the port that releases the gas that inflates the airbag cushion. We believe when a blockage of the gas exit port takes place it causes the internal pressure of the inflator to reach a point that exceeds the inflator’s housing strength, causing them to rupture and propel inflator parts into the passenger compartment where they can injure or kill drivers and passengers.

Personal injuries

It has been proven that when airbags rupture, injuries to victims can be quite severe, or even life threatening. People who allege they were harmed by a defective ARC airbag inflator have sustained injuries including blunt force trauma, shrapnel lacerations and other upper body trauma. 

Our experience litigating for victims of dangerous vehicle defects 

Motley Rice has played a lead role in some of the largest and most significant litigations in recent years involving vehicle defects, including cases involving defective airbags installed in vehicles manufactured by several automakers. Read the leadership appointment order for In re: ARC Airbag Inflators Products Liability Litigation.

Our attorneys represent dozens of clients and have settled claims made by personal injury victims alleging harm by Takata airbags in the U.S. and Malaysia. Motley Rice was the first law firm to document the rupture of a Takata inflator on high-speed video and to thoroughly investigate the airbag defect by disassembling airbag inflators found in junk yards. Our attorneys also played a key role in helping negotiate a pair of Takata bankruptcy resolutions for current and future victims in the wake of the largest automobile recall in history.

Motley Rice co-founder Joe Rice also serves as a member of the Plaintiffs’ Executive Committee for the multidistrict litigation In re General Motors LLC Ignition Switch Litigation, filed for victims who allege financial injury due to the unsafe condition of GM vehicles that were recalled for ignition defects. 

Motley Rice is also reviewing claims of harm involving airbags in recalled Kia vehicles that failed to deploy in a crash. The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) also announced in April 2019 that it is investigating potentially defective airbags installed in 12.3 million vehicles that may fail to deploy due to electrical overstress — the seeming cause of at least eight deaths in the United States. Our attorneys are available to discuss these and other cases involving vehicle defects.