With millions of its cars recalled due to a scary and very real likelihood of mechanical failure, it shouldn’t surprise Toyota to suddenly be on the receiving end of a pile of lawsuits. America’s lawyers are very likely rubbing their hands together in glee at the potential for moneymaking that currently exists with regards to America’s best-selling make of cars, trucks, and SUVs. It’s been discovered that a design flaw in the gas pedal assembly of eight different Toyota vehicles (Avalon, Camry, Corolla, Highlander, Matrix, RAV4, Sequoia, and Tundra) has led in some cases to uncontrollable acceleration and the risk of accident or death.
In Corpus Christi, Texas, attorney Robert Hilliard reports that he is representing a few plaintiffs claiming that their Toyotas have accelerated on their own. One couple, the owners of a 2008 Avalon, allege that the problem led to an accident for which they are being held at fault. In Ohio, lawyer Stan Chesley is in charge of a suit that could become a class-action filing on behalf of a pair of Toyota drivers who are seeking compensation for their inability to drive their Toyotas and their need to obtain other transportation, although neither has been injured. Toyota maintains that, to date, there have been no deaths as a result of broken gas pedals – just five deaths due to accelerators becoming stuck in a floor mat.
Even in the very best of situations, these suits represent nothing but a total public relations nightmare for Toyota. Nor is it likely that they will remain the only entity dragged down by multiple pieces of litigation. Dealers, insurers, suppliers, and car owners themselves all form a complex net, and it is likely that these problems will continue to plague a great many people for a very long time.
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