Personal Injury Law

34 Auto Products Liability Fatalities Allegedly Were Caused by Toyota Acceleration Problem

By Altman & Altman

The US Department of Transportation says that consumers have filed complaints linking 34 car accident deaths to the acceleration defect that has prompted the automaker to recall millions of motor vehicles. While previous to Toyota?s decision to stop selling eight of its autos because of the sticking gas pedal defect there had been 21 deaths in the last 10 years linked to the acceleration issue, the NHTSA says that another nine complaints reporting another 13 fatalities and 10 injuries that have occurred in the last five years have been submitted.

One Toyota car crash involved a Harvard University professor who died after striking another auto because he was unable to control his 2005 Toyota Highlander. Two of the professor?s loved ones and the other driver also died.

In other Toyota collision news, a woman has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the automaker. She claims that her husband died because his Prius accelerated suddenly before crashing. Just last week, Toyota recalled 437,000 hybrids (Prius, Sai, and Lexus ) over anti-lock braking system problems. That same day, the automaker recalled 7,300 Camrys over a brake defect. On February 12, Toyota recalled 8,000 Tacoma trucks (2010 model) over possibly cracked front drive shafts.

Now, the federal government says it will open a formal probe into the over 150 complaints it has received regarding the Toyota Corolla (?09 and ?10 models) and possible steering problems. One consumer reported problems with the vehicle weaving around in the lane when it reached speeds of over 60 mph. The complaint noted that this problem has already caused four near collisions.

In 2009, the Corolla was the number one selling car in the world and ranked five on the US car bestseller list.

Our Boston auto products liability lawyers are offering free case evaluations to discuss your Toyota acceleration accident case. Auto defects that cause a motorist to lose control of a vehicle can lead to catastrophic car collisions that endangers the people in the vehicle as well as those who are on the road and in other cars.

U.S. government plans formal investigation into Toyota Corolla complaints, The Washington Post, February 18, 2010

U.S. Gets Additional Complaints of Crashes of Toyotas, New York Times, February 15, 2010

Toyota Recall News Reveals Tacoma and Prius Lawsuit, Newsoxy, February 15, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Toyota Motor Corp.

Toyota, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

Full post as published by Boston Injury Lawyer Blog on February 18, 2010 (boomark / email).