Experts: Takata bankruptcy means air bag victims get less

DETROIT — A bankruptcy filing by Japanese air bag maker Takata will leave little money for dozens of people who sued the company over deaths and injuries caused by its exploding air bag inflators, according to outside legal experts and lawyers suing the company.

Takata Corp. and its U.S. operations are likely to seek bankruptcy protection by the end of June in a deal that would sell its assets to competitor Key Safety Systems Inc., a person briefed on the talks said. The person didn’t want to be identified because discussions are in progress.

The price Key will pay is unknown, but much of it likely will go toward paying a $1 billion U.S. criminal settlement. Most of the settlement money will go to automakers as restitution for recall costs.

Key is expected to buy Takata’s assets “free and clear” of past liabilities, and lawyers say there won’t be enough money to give victims what they would have received if they were suing a healthy company.

So far the faulty inflators have killed 11 people in the U.S. and 16 worldwide. Over 180 people have been injured. The problem touched off the biggest recall in U.S. automotive history, involving 19 automakers, 42 million vehicles and up to 69 million inflators. About 100 million inflators have been recalled worldwide.

Some victims have serious facial injuries from metal shrapnel and would win large verdicts if Takata were financially strong. Attorney Kevin Dean, who has 25 cases pending against Takata, said one of his clients will never be able to smile due to nerve damage.