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A Toyota airbag explosion lawsuit in Louisiana claims occupants of a 2003 Toyota Corolla would not have been injured if Toyota would have warned them about the dangerous Takata passenger airbag.
The incident occurred on March 25, 2025, when plaintiff Yolande Young was driving the 2003 Toyota Corolla and plaintiff Alvin Richard was riding in the front passenger seat.
Young slowed the car to a stop so Mr. Richard could exit the Corolla, but the lawsuit alleges the front passenger Takata airbag exploded as Richard was getting out of the stopped Corolla.
The metal airbag inflator exploded and shot shrapnel throughout the Corolla, injuring both plaintiffs.
Toyota allegedly created a “flawed recall strategy” that targeted Louisiana because of the risks of exploding Takata airbags in Louisiana at a higher risk of explosion due to humidity.
The 2003 Toyota Corollas were recalled years ago (2015, 2018) to replace the passenger Takata airbags, including in Louisiana.
And in January 2024, Toyota and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration issued an urgent “Do Not Drive” warning for 2003 Toyota Corollas that still had not had their Takata airbags replaced.
But according to the airbag lawsuit:
“Toyota failed to ever actually notify the registered owners (including Plaintiffs) about the recall, the Subject Toyota’s defective condition, or the imminent danger Plaintiffs would be in if they used the vehicle. Sadly, Toyota chose to leave Plaintiffs in the dark and knowingly subjected them to substantial safety and health risks.”
The plaintiffs complain they would not have been using the 2003 Toyota Corolla and would not have been injured if Toyota would have adequately warned them about the exploding Takata airbags.
Even though the Corolla and passenger airbag were 22 years old when the incident occurred, the lawsuit claims:
“At the time of the incident, the Subject Toyota and its front passenger-side airbag system were in substantially the same condition as they were at the time they left the Toyota Defendants’ final possession, custody, and control.”
The Toyota Corolla airbag explosion lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana (Lafayette Division): Alvin Richard and Yolande Young v. Toyota Motor Corporation, et al.
The plaintiffs are represented by Morgan & Morgan, P.A.