Approximately four years ago we all heard about the unexpected and uncontrolled acceleration of Toyota vehicles causing accidents and terrifying drivers. Now Toyota Motor Corp. is settling many of these lawsuits, some of which are wrongful death suits.
Toyota maintains that the cause of the acceleration was that the pedals were stuck in faulty floor mats and driver error were the causes of the vehicles unexpectedly surging. Many attorneys fighting these lawsuits believe that it is the electronic throttle control system.
Toyota has settled more than $1 billion in lawsuits involving economic loss and wrongful death claims which some feel they are doing to avoid coming out and telling what the real reason was behind the unexpected surging.
Today Toyota is still dealing with the sudden acceleration issues that began four years ago and last month the U.S. government fined the company approximately $17.4 million for failing to quickly report the problems to federal regulators and delaying a safety recall.
More than 14 million Toyota vehicles have been recalled because of this issue and it has hurt the company's reputation when it comes to reliability, but it still is the world's largest automaker.
While Toyota has chosen to settle these cases rather than go to trial, could mean that they would rather put this incident behind them instead of dragging it out in a court of law.
If you have a situation where you feel that a product may have contributed to injury or wrongful death, you should seek the advice of a personal injury attorney. They understand the complex issues involved and can help you determine if you have a case.
Source: The State Journal, "Toyota settlement may signal future legal strategy," Greg Risling, Jan. 21, 2013
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