Everyone knows by now about Toyotas massive recall of many of its cars and trucks due to sticking gas pedals. Toyota’s top US official has gone before Congress and issued an apology- basically, we are sorry and we promise to do better in the future.
Several Texas wrongful death lawsuits have been filed over Toyota struck accelerator pedals, and more injury lawsuits against Toyota are expected to be filed in the near future.
While Toyota has indicated that they have a fix for the recall, some plaintiff’s attorneys feel the problem is in the electronics of the vehicles, which Toyota has at this point strongly denied. It is safe to assume that a recall involving electronics would be a hugely expensive endeavor for Toyota.
News reports indicate that Toyota has sent a letter to individual State Attorney Generals with information about how consumers can contact Toyota and things Toyota will do to make it easier on consumers to have their vehicle repaired.
The real dilemma here for Toyota is if expert witnesses hired by plaintiff’s lawyers find a different cause for the Toyota unintended acceleration problem.
Not only was Toyota blasted in the recent hearings but the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration was criticized with one lawmaker stating they (NHTSA) “failed the taxpayers”.
Personal injury attorneys have long said that the NHTSA was more interested in protecting manufacturers and ignoring hard data critical of manufacturer’s designs, than in serving the American consumer.
The question that comes to my mind is do you think auto industry lobbyists and Washington politics have anything to do with the NHTSA’s numerous positions over the years on the side of manufacturers?
If you have lost a loved one in a Toyota vehicle and would like to speak with a Houston Toyota recall lawyer- call the Baumgartner Law Firm.
