It was just this spring when the news headlines were full of stories about runaway Toyotas that had caused personal and property injury and wrongful deaths. A panel from Carnegie Mellon University, looking into the safety of Toyotas, has concluded that the risk of dying from unintended acceleration in a Toyota is minimal, according to FairWarning.org.
Paul Fischbeck, a university researcher, compared the risk of being killed while walking alongside a road as 19 times higher than driving a recalled Toyota. Fischbeck told the Detroit News that the risk of dying in a Toyota is the same as the risk of an adult dying of meningitis. That revelation is news to the more than 3,000 complaint cases of sudden acceleration that Toyota owners have filed with the federal government. The Department of Transportation launched this National Academy of Sciences panel investigation after 93 individuals died in defective Toyotas and Lexuses. Six million Toyota vehicles have been recalled for sudden acceleration.
When a product is sold to consumers, there is an implication, if not an outright promise, that it is safe and works as promoted. When the product fails, you may have a product liability case against the manufacturer and everyone along the distribution line. Farah & Farah attorneys have heard too many cases of Toyotas speeding out of control to doubt there is either a defective electrical system that is overriding the accelerator or some other product defect.
The jury is still out on this mystery. A wide-ranging investigation on the defective Toyotas is due out next year.
