Even people who don’t like lawyers or lawsuits have to appreciate what they sometimes can yield. When the plaintiff deposes the other side, in this case Toyota, it can find out all sorts of things that the company would rather keep secret, and that is good for the public interest.
In a class action filed in federal court in California, documents from inside Toyota reveal the automaker has been aware of the problem of sudden acceleration of its vehicles for at least six years, according to a Consumer Affairs report. From the news reports earlier this year and last about the cars suddenly accelerating and taking off with the driver, you would think from Toyota’s response that it had never before heard or known of such a problem.
The documents include a statement from a Toyota technician who looked at a case of unintended acceleration in 2003. He urged Toyota to take immediate action, calling the problem of a runaway car “extremely dangerous.” He also expressed fear that more cases could occur if Toyota did not intervene.
It was the August 2009 death of California Highway Patrolman Mark Saylor and his entire family in a runaway Lexus in San Diego six years later that awakened the public to the potential dangers of Toyota.
Toyota has responded by blaming over-sized floor mats placed too near the accelerator pedal in issuing a recall of 2007/2008 Lexus ES 350 and 2007/2008 Camry. Last November, Toyota said it would reshape the accelerator pedal on 3.8 million vehicles and the recall expanded in January.
Toyota says it has not found anything wrong with the electronics of the vehicles which many suspect is a defective product that commandeers the Toyota vehicles, giving the victims of sudden acceleration the feeling that they have no control over the vehicle.
If you or a family member has experienced unintended acceleration in a Toyota vehicle, the experienced Florida product recall attorneys at Farah and Farah would like to hear your story to help you find a solution.
