The parents of 17-year-old Huma Hanif, who filed a lawsuit in April after their daughter’s death from a malfunctioning airbag subject to a historic recall, have settled with all parties.
The Fort Bend County teen was the second person in the Houston area and the 10th nationwide to be killed by an airbag in a car crash. The family’s product liability case filed in Harris County focused on the use of the explosive, ammonium nitrate, which is used in the airbag inflators. Defendants in the lawsuit included Japanese airbag maker Takata Corp., American Honda Motor Co. and a local car dealer, Westside Hummer.
Hanif, who was driving a 2002 Honda Civic, rear-ended another vehicle that was legally stopped on March 31 along FM 762 in central Fort Bend County southeast of Richmond. When her airbag deployed, a metal shard inside struck the young woman’s neck. She died at the scene.
A joint order of dismissal was signed by Harris County Civil Judge Dan Hinde on Monday.
“The case is resolved, and there has been a confidential settlement,” said Mo Aziz, one of several Houston lawyers representing the Hanif family. He said he could not offer details of the settlement or reveal the amount.
Aziz added that the teen’s relatives felt relief from resolving the legal action.
“One of the factors that they also considered in agreeing to the settlement was the closure aspect of it and not living through the horror of that day by going through depositions and maybe a trial,” he said.
