Lawyers

• U.S. fines Takata, bans volatile chemical in its air bags

  The top U.S. auto safety regulator on Tuesday imposed a relatively modest $70-million fine on air-bag supplier Takata Corp (7312.T) and ordered it to stop making inflators that use ammonium nitrate.

• Takata air bag recall probe could expand: U.S. regulator

  U.S. regulators said on Monday they could expand their investigation into Takata Corp (7312.T) air bag inflators beyond 11 automakers, as questions arose about whether vehicle design played a role in the devices posing a deadly risk to the public.

• After bruising safety crisis, U.S. car watchdog shows its bite

  The U.S. auto safety watchdog, long criticized as toothless and slow, is showing both bark and bite under its new boss - a testimony to his credentials as a safety expert and a hardening of the administration's policy after a wave of deadly defects.

• Honda confirms Takata airbag rupture injured driver in March accident

  Honda Motor Co Ltd's American unit on Monday confirmed that a faulty airbag inflator made by Takata Corp ruptured in a March 20 crash of a car in Florida, injuring the driver.

• U.S. judge taps lead lawyers for Takata air bag cases

  Four plaintiffs’ lawyers, including high-profile attorney David Boies, were appointed by a federal judge on Tuesday to lead civil litigation against Takata Corp and several car manufacturers for injuries caused by allegedly faulty air bags.

• Takata to save faulty air-bag inflators for litigation, U.S. probe

  A U.S. safety regulator on Wednesday ordered Takata Corp (7312.T) to preserve all air-bag inflators removed through a recall process as evidence for both a federal investigation and private litigation cases.

• Japanese executive indicted in U.S. for auto parts price fixing

  An executive with the Japanese auto parts maker Takata Corp (7312.T) was indicted on Thursday for conspiring to fix the prices of seat belts sold to carmakers, the U.S. Justice Department said.

• Chrysler says air bag recall will start earlier than planned

  Chrysler Group LLC will send recall notifications to owners of vehicles equipped with potentially defective Takata Corp air bags nearly two weeks earlier than planned, the company said late Wednesday.

• Honda admits under-reporting serious U.S. accidents since 2003

  Honda Motor Co (7267.T) failed to notify U.S. safety regulators of 1,729 claims of injuries and deaths related to accidents in its vehicles since 2003, the automaker acknowledged on Monday.

• Takata executive warns about ability to fix deadly air bag flaw

  An executive from Japan's Takata Corp (7312.T) told U.S. senators on Thursday that the supplier is urgently trying to ramp up replacement parts for millions of vehicles equipped with potentially deadly air bags, but said it may not be able to move quickly enough.

• As U.S. hearings loom, Takata faces long slog in air bag crisis

  Takata Corp (7312.T) faces a long battle to gauge the fallout from a fast-moving air bag crisis as recalls mount up, adding to the costs for the loss-making Japanese auto parts maker.

• Ford: Mustang driver injured by air bag fragment in North Carolina crash

  Ford Motor Co F.N. said on Sunday night it was cooperating with U.S. safety regulators investigating a report the driver of a 2007 Ford Mustang was injured in August by a metal fragment from the car’s air bag.

• Malaysian air bag victim was in final week of pregnancy

  The death of a heavily pregnant Malaysian woman in a car crash on Borneo island in July opens a new front in a widening U.S. investigation into defective air bags that has triggered one of the biggest safety recalls in automotive history.

• Takata executives ordered technicians to erase air bag test results: report

  Takata Corp, the Japanese auto parts maker at the center of a global vehicle recall, ordered its technicians to destroy results of tests on some of its air bags after finding cracks in air bag inflators, the New York Times said on Friday.

• Honda ordered to give Takata air bag papers to U.S. agency

  U.S. safety regulators ordered Japanese automaker Honda Motor Co Ltd (7267.T) on Wednesday to provide documents and answer questions under oath about potentially defective air bags installed in millions of recalled U.S. vehicles.

• U.S. senators demand nationwide recall over Takata air bags

  Two U.S. senators demanded Thursday that safety regulators issue a nationwide recall of automobiles with potentially defective air bags that can launch metal shards into occupants.

• More lawsuits filed against Honda, Takata over air bags

  The recall crisis involving Takata-made air bags exploding with too much force and spraying vehicle occupants with metal shrapnel is growing, with two more lawsuits filed over accidents in older Honda cars.