Florida jury awards $603 million to family of mother killed by counterfeit airbag
A Florida jury has awarded a $603 million payment to the family of a mother of two killed when a counterfeit airbag detonated in her car following a minor crash, according to the law firm representing her.
Destiny Byassee, 22, was involved in a minor crash on June 11, 2023, when an airbag made by Jilin Province Detiannuo Safety Technology Co., Ltd. (DTN) installed in her vehicle failed to deploy properly and exploded sending metal shrapnel throughout the vehicle, a release from Morgan & Morgan says.
Before Byassee purchased the vehicle, it was involved in a prior collision that caused the airbags to deploy. An illegal and counterfeit DTN airbag was installed in the car during repairs, the release says. It adds that Byassee never knew about the airbag.
The release notes that DTN retained counsel and filed a response to the lawsuit denying the allegations against it but failed to attend the trial.
“This verdict is a critical first step toward ensuring that companies around the world that manufacture counterfeit airbag components are held accountable for their misconduct,” said Morgan & Morgan founder John Morgan and attorney Andrew Parker Felix, in the release. “Our client was a mother of two young children, who had her entire life ahead of her. What should have been a minor and survivable collision turned deadly because of the counterfeit DTN airbag that was in her steering wheel, and now her children will grow up without their mother.”
The statement adds that the jury sent a message to DTN and others that make and ship counterfeit airbags into the country.
“Despite their failure to attend trial, we believe that there are collectible assets from DTN, which we intend to pursue to the fullest of our ability,” the statement says.
The suit was filed by Byassee’s estate to recover damages from her death. The jury awarded $243 million in compensatory damages and $360 million in punitive damages.
Morgan and Morgan has also filed a suit for the family of a Utah teen killed by a counterfeit airbag. The teen’s driver-side airbag exploded when the car was involved in a minor crash on July 30, 2025.
In April, The U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced that it has banned defective Chinese airbag inflators.
An NHTSA investigation has concluded that the inflators killed at least 10 people and caused serious injuries to two individuals in a dozen crashes.
All 12 crashes involved frontal driver airbag inflators marked with the identifier “DTN60DB” that were likely illegally imported into the United States.
In February, NHTSA issued an “urgent” industry alert specifically asking the auto repair industry to look for dangerous airbag inflators.
“NHTSA urgently advises to not install substandard inflators from this company and to ensure any used vehicles that have been in a previous crash where the air bag deployed now have air bags that are legitimate replacements,” the alert states. “All parties should be extremely cautious about sourcing air bag modules and utilize verifiable vendors.”
It also asked that the auto repair industry share any pertinent information with NHTSA immediately.
“Your customers trust that you are providing quality components that comply with the highest safety standards,” NHTSA says in the alert. “Use reputable vendors and be on the lookout for any dubious transactions that could involve DTN replacement air bag inflators.”
Many OEM manufacturers have procedures that state airbags should be removed and inspected post-collision, according to Mike Anderson, owner of Collision Advice. He made the statement during the Society of Collision Repair Specialists (SCRS) OEM Collision Repair Technology Summit Session II, held during the 2025 SEMA Show in Las Vegas in November.
He said that in a recent “Who Pays for What?” survey, about 49% of shops say they are getting reimbursed for airbag inspections most of the time. However, he said there had been a 10% decline in the number of insurance companies that are refusing to pay for the operation.
NHTSA asks that if a vehicle is found to have one of the defective airbags, it should not be driven.
If an owner has a vehicle with one of these suspect inflators, they should contact their local Homeland Security Investigations office or FBI field office to report it or submit an online complaint to the National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center.
Owners may also contact NHTSA online or by calling the agency’s Vehicle Safety Hotline at 888-327-4236, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern time.
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