Takata Rejects Compensation Fund Plan for Airbag Victims

Takata Corp. has turned down a request to create a fund to compensate victims of its defective airbag inflators.

U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) proposed the scheme, which would function similar to a fund set up by General Motors Co. to aid victims of its defective ignition switches. The company promises to give the suggestion "further study."

GM's fund has approved payments for more than 120 fatalities and 250 injuries linked to its ignition switches. Takata's inflators have been blamed for eight fatalities and more than 100 injuries.

Takata notes that GM's fund offers compensation to victims who might otherwise be unable to get it because of "new" GM was shielded from claims against vehicles built by old GM before its 2009 bankruptcy.

Eleven car and truck manufacturers have so far recalled more than 40 million vehicles over the past seven years to replace Takata airbag inflators. No one has yet pinpointed the exact cause of the inflator failures.