Relatives of 5-year-old Jordan West, who was killed by an auto air bag last fall, have taken the matter to court.
Mark and Lynn Oliver, the child's grandparents, and Tiffany Marin, his mother, filed suit Feb. 29 in 2nd District Court against General Motors and Ogden-based Morton International.GM made the Chevrolet Camaro in which West was riding during the fatal accident Oct. 10, and Morton made the air bag.
The Olivers and Marin want to "properly" and "justly" punish GM and Morton to "serve as a wholesome reminder to other manufacturers not to do likewise," according to the complaint.
They claim GM knew as far back as 1971 that air bags were dangerous, but went ahead and put them in cars without warning people of the risk.
"Such conduct demonstrates a cavalier and willful disregard for the safety of the passenger in the right front passenger seat," the complaint said. It added that Morton also knew, or should have known, air bags were unsuitable for placement on the passenger side.
Jordan was in the passenger seat of the 1994 Camaro with his grandmother, Lynn Oliver, when she bumped into a concrete planter in a North Salt Lake parking lot. She was going about 10 miles per hour.
Both the driver's side and passenger's side air bags were activated. Oliver escaped unharmed, but according to a subsequent National Transportation Safety Board investigation, the exploding passenger-side air bag banged into Jordan, twisted and broke his neck, fractured his skull, and pushed his head up into the ceiling. He quickly died from the injuries.
When activated, Morton's air bags, made of woven synthetic materials, quickly fill with nitrogen gas resulting from a chemical explosion. They approach the person to be protected at 140 to 200 miles per hour.
The safety board investigation concluded the air bag functioned properly, sparking outrage from Mark Oliver.
"The automaker and the air-bag manufacturer didn't seem to be targeted here," he said.
NTSB investigators are looking into at least seven other serious injuries or deaths possibly resulting from air bags, including the death of an Orem girl.
In its May 1995 issue, Consumers' Research Magazine reported 90,000 drivers and passengers have suffered 163,000 injuries since air bags were introduced in the 1970s. Most of those, 96 percent, were minor.
Mark Oliver said manufacturers have been irresponsible in not warning consumers of the danger inherent in air bags. He recently launched a page on the World Wide Web (see box) discussing Jordan's death and the entire air-bag issue.
Oliver said he's not suing for money but for principle, adding that any money he gets will go to charity.
A GM spokeswoman in Lansing, Mich., declined comment on the suit, citing company policy prohibiting comment on ongoing litigation. Roger Tea, spokesman for Morton, similarly declined comment until the company's lawyers finish perusing the complaint.
Morton makes 20 million air bags a year for installation in cars all over the world. It claims 50 percent of the air-bag market.
Studies, including the NTSB's own investigation, have shown that infants and toddlers riding in the front passenger seat are in danger of being injured by air-bag explosions if they aren't properly buckled in, with the seat slid all the way back to get their face and head as far away from the air bag as possible.
In fact, the board recommends that young children ride in the back seat to avoid any risk. Infants in front passenger seats should be in front-facing baby carriers, and toddlers should have a seat belt adapter to fit the belt around their smaller frames.
Lynn Oliver said Jordan's seat belt was buckled around him, but NTSB investigators said they doubt it was.
Deseret News staff writer Brooke Adams contributed to this story.
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
A page on the World Wide Web
Framed by illustrations of two angels, Jordan West's own cherubic face lights up his home page on the World Wide Web.
The page, set up by his grandfather Mark A. Oliver, is both a memorial to Jordan and a one-family campaign to raise awareness of the dangers of air bags - "bombs in your dashboard," as he calls them. Jordan died last October after an air bag deployed and struck him in the face. (See accompanying story.) Oliver placed Jordan's page on the World Wide Web to bring his grandson's story to as many people as possible. So far, about 200 people have visited the site.
The page details the accident and provides links to information about the dangers of air bags. "The point is Jordan would not have died had he been in a car without air bags," the site states.
At least six other children have died as a result of air bags deploying in low-speed collisions.
The Olivers want the government to make air bags optional or require warning labels in vehicles about their dangers.
The Jordan West Web Page is located at: http://home.utah-inter.net/markaoliver/jordan.htm.