Federal safety regulators have identified the 11th death caused by deadly Takata air bags. The fatality happened after a tragic Sep. 30 car accident where a 50-year-old woman suffered mortal wounds and later died at the hospital. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has since announced that the woman would not have died had it not been for an unrepaired Takata air bag inside her 2001 Honda Civic.

According to Honda, the woman was driving one of their vehicles, which was subjected to an air bag-related recall in 2008. However, the vehicle the woman was operating was never repaired.

Tragically, this scenario is all too common throughout the United States where almost 70 million Takata air bag recalls were instituted. Honda says that more than 20 notices were sent to different owners of the woman’s vehicle over a period of eight years, warning them to get the car repaired, but the notices were never adhered to.

Out of the nearly 70 million Takata recalls sent out, only 11.4 million air bag inflators have actually been repaired. That’s only 36 percent of the affected air bags. So far, 100 Tacata-caused injuries have been reported in the United States. Considering how few air bags have actually been repaired, it is likely that we have not seen the end of these injuries.

Alabama residents injured by Takata air bags might have strong claims to seek financial restitution for injuries in court. Depending on the facts of the case, they might be able to seek restitution from vehicle owners who failed to repair a recalled air bag and thus subjected their passengers to danger; or, they might also be able to hold the vehicle and air manufacturers liable for their negligence.

Source: Automotive News, “11th death related to Takata airbags reported by Honda,” Ryan Beene, Oct. 20, 2016