The family of the late Dr. Amber Martinez say their quest for answers relating to her death from an explosive faulty airbag part will go on.
A Coroner’s Court jury on Wednesday recorded a verdict of death by misadventure, after hearing evidence that a metallic fragment from the airbag inflator had shot into her neck “like a bullet”, killing her instantly, before her car burst into flames.
This evidence only came to light after the Martinez family engaged lawyers and experts to help prove that the shrapnel recovered from her neck during her post mortem analysis had caused her death.
In a statement issued by the family on Thursday, they said that through the “efforts and hard work” of their lawyers at Newsome Melton and HSM Chambers, their expert witnesses, Coroner Angelyn Hernandez and the inquest jury, “we have been able to establish that Amber was killed by the ruptured Takata inflator in the Honda she was driving”.
The forensic pathologist who carried out the autopsy at first assumed the metallic fragment had likely transferred to her body during the blaze that engulfed the car, but later amended his findings after Michael DiCicco, an expert the family hired, determined categorically that the piece was part of the booster tube from the airbag.
Martinez, 29, had qualified as a doctor just months before her death in October 2022, when she graduated from the University of Pécs Medical School in Hungary. She had started a new job at the Health Services Authority and was heading to work when the accident happened.
“Amber became a doctor as she wanted to make a difference in this world, one person at a time,” the family said. “We know from her short time on this earth she was able to make an impact on individuals, but little did we know that she would continue to do so in death.
“Our quest to demand answers from Honda and Takata will continue!”
Their own investigation
The family continued, “Grief places an individual in a very difficult emotional and psychological space. As we rode the waves of grief, we not only had to do our own investigation to find answers, but we also had to retain both overseas and local counsel to further investigate and find answers.”
The family say they want to ensure that every member of the motoring public in all of the Cayman Islands are aware of the impact of the Takata airbag recall and “just how serious and dangerous this situation is”.
“Your life or the life of a loved one could be at stake,” they said.
They highlighted that the defect at the heart of the Takata recall, which has killed 27 victims and injured more than 400 people in the United States alone, is not limited to just Honda vehicles. It includes 19 different car manufacturers, 34 brands and multiple
model years.
The Takata recall is the largest vehicle recall on record, involving at least 100 million vehicles in countries around the world.
The Martinez family said they would like to urge all motorists to check the VIN number/chassis numbers of their cars immediately to ensure that they’re not driving a
vehicle with a “ticking timebomb inside”.
Amber’s parents, Barry and Joanna, and sister Chynna, sat through the three-day inquest, as did several other family members and friends.
The family said they believe they have a “moral responsibility and civic duty” as citizens of the Cayman Islands to ensure others in their community that could fall victim to the faulty airbags are “informed and made aware”.
“We also know that Amber would not expect anything less from us,” they said.
“It is therefore our aim to do everything within our power to get the message out that these Takata Airbags can kill! A Takata Airbag took Amber from us: Amber was not only our daughter, but a granddaughter, sister, niece, cousin, and friend. No one else should have to suffer this same fate.”
They added, “We urge all other Caymanian motorists and motorists of our neighbouring Caribbean islands to take note of this incredibly dangerous Takata Recall as we continue to try and ‘Save Lives with Amber’.”
In their statement, they also thanked “all of our many family members and friends who have been by our side every step of the way as we tried to navigate this most difficult journey: life without Amber. Their love and support over the past 19 months have been immeasurable and greatly appreciated.”
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As a licensed US attorney, I suggest the family reaches out to trial attorneys in the U.S. who are handling the mass tort litigation around the Takakata airbag defects. A Google search will yield the top attorneys in this field. The family should also look to the rules and regulation that permitted vehicles to (1) enter the Cayman Islands; and (2) find out how large auto dealers on island are permitted to sell vehicles that have known, defective airbags.
A very sad situation indeed, however was the cause of death the metallic shard? The pathologist was not direct in his statement on that issue, in fact he thought it was a result of removing the body. A cause of death was really not revealed in the article which alluded to the neck injury but did not state that it was the cause of death which would have meant possible “bleeding to death” since the metal shard did not damage the spine as far as I understood. No reason was given for the car leaving the road so soon after she left home. A more reasonable explanation would be that she was forced off the road by some sort of large vehicle, hit the tree..that was when the airbag tried to deploy and exploded, even in that case ,cause of death is still not identified unless she bled to death from her carotid injury if one occurred. A second autopsy should be done and nearby cameras should be looked at to determine if there was another vehicle on the road at that time. Also how does someone get between the seats if the seat-belt was functioning properly. There are a lot of unanswered questions. Again my deepest consolation to the family.