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Air bag lawsuit may cost Big 3

By Kenneth Cole / The Detroit News

    The Big Three automakers would have to reimburse motorists who have air bag on-off switches installed if an Alabama lawsuit is successful.
    That could prove costly to General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler Corp., depending on how many domestic car owners opt for the $150 devices.
    "We liken it to a recall effort," said Kenneth Ingram, an Alexander City, Ala., attorney and lead counsel for plaintiffs in the class-action lawsuit in Coosa County Circuit Court. "With any other kind of vehicle safety defect, you drive your car in and they (manufacturers) fix it and bear the cost. Same should apply here."
    The lawsuit lists seven plaintiffs -- four from Michigan -- who represent the class. Ingram estimated that the case potentially affects 1 million domestic car owners. A similar lawsuit also will be filed against Japanese and European automakers, he said.
    On Monday, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has said motorists meeting strict criteria can begin installing the switches.
    "If and when we win, though, automakers would have to issue refunds to those consumers who've already paid for installation of the switches," Ingram said. "It just makes good common sense: Consumers shouldn't have to pay twice for the manufacturers' mistake."
    Eleanor Schmid, 77, of Warren, called the lawsuit a "good idea." For one, she said, manufacturers didn't design air bags for small people like her. She is 5 feet, 1 inch tall.
    "And I don't think I should have to pay for something I didn't want in the first place," the retired school secretary said. She isn't a plaintiff but has filed for permission to install a shut-off switch.
    Through Friday, NHTSA had received 5,209 such requests from motorists and had authorized 3,164.
    The American Automobile Manufacturers Association, which represents the Big Three automakers, declined comment on the lawsuit, but a Ford spokeswoman said the company opposes paying for switch installations.
    "Ford doesn't pay for specialized vehicle modifications to accommodate unique customer needs," said Linda Christoph, a spokeswoman for the company. "By analogy, people who are in wheelchairs and need ramps or lifts, we wouldn't pay for that.
    "Likewise with people who need cutoff switches. They're a specific group of people with unique needs."
    Countered Ingram: "That's a callous approach for the automakers to say a 6-year-old child or a short person has a unique need.
    "Surely, the companies didn't think that only 160 pound males were going to be riding around in their cars. Yet, they took the cheap way out and put one-size-fits-all air bags in their cars."
    Air bags are credited with saving nearly 3,000 lives since 1993. But the controversial safety devices also have killed 89 people, including 50 children, since 1993, according to the safety agency's most recent information. Six of those killed were Michigan residents, including three children, ages 3, 5 and 9.
    In November, NHTSA approved on-off switches for certain motorists. They are:
   * Adults who must put children in the front seat because they carpool or have large families requiring use of all front and back seats.
   * Short drivers who cannot sit at least 10 inches from the air bag module.
   * People with medical conditions that must be monitored or for whom air bag deployment would be dangerous.
   * Adults who must put a rear-facing infant seat in the front seat because there is no back seat or because of a medical problem.