Archive for the ‘Toyota Recall’ Category

Toyota recall: What does it mean for Texas car and truck owners?

The Toyota Avalon sped through an intersection, crashed through a fence, rammed a tree and landed upside-down in a pond in Southlake, a suburb of Fort Worth. Four people, including the driver, were killed. It was the day after Christmas in 2009.

The horrific accident occurred after Monty and Linda Hardy had taken their vehicle to the dealership several times with complaints about unintended acceleration. The dealership, however, said nothing was wrong, according to their attorney.

“Money can’t bring back my husband,” Linda Hardy told ABC News. “I want Toyota to take care of these problems so no one else will die.”

Toyota defects have been linked to other car accidents and deaths not just in Texas, but in places across the country. Alarmingly, Toyota said it knew about an accelerator problem two months before the fatal accident in Southlake, but did not say anything publicly until a month after the accident.

Toyota recalls about 13 million cars

Since then, Toyota has recalled about 13 million of its vehicles because of possible defects, including sticky gas pedals in some models and floor mats trapping the accelerator in other models. Both of these defects are linked to cars racing out of control.

In the latest setback for the car manufacture, in January 2011 Toyota announced a recall of 1.7 million vehicles to address problems related to defective fuel pumps and fuel lines.

In December 2010, Toyota agreed to pay $32.4 million in fines to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) because the car company delayed reporting safety defects in its vehicles on two separate occasions.

Was your car part of the Toyota recall? Were you or someone you know injured due to a Toyota defect in Houston or elsewhere in Texas? Don’t hesitate to contact an experienced attorney who knows how to help victims of injured due to Houston Toyota defects. Smith & Hassler has experience in handling all types of product liability cases as well as wrongful death lawsuits.

Smith & Hassler can help those affected by Toyota recall

At Smith & Hassler, we can put our knowledge of the Toyota recall to work for you. Our attorneys understand how to apply Texas law to defective product cases, including a Houston Toyota defect. We have resources and expert witnesses who can help you build a strong case. We aggressively stand up to big corporations and their teams of attorneys and demand justice for our clients.

Car accidents happen fast and for a variety of reasons. We understand how devastating a car accident can be – especially when the accident is due to a car maker’s negligence. The attorneys at Smith & Hassler are dedicated to helping victims get the maximum compensation they deserve. Contact Smith & Hassler today for a free and confidential consultation. Tell them you mean business.

Toyota is attempting to dismiss sudden acceleration lawsuit

News Channel 2 story is here

A federal judge is California is soon to consider a motion filed by Toyota Motor Company in which Toyota seeks to dismiss lawsuit alleging there was a defect in Toyota’s vehicles that caused sudden acceleration.  Toyota has recalled millions of its vehicles yet is asking the judge to throw out hundreds of the lawsuit filed over sudden acceleration collisions. Toyota is claiming that attorneys for people injured due to sudden acceleration have failed to prove that there is a design defect in Toyota’s electronic throttle control system that is responsible for the sudden accelerations.  The lawsuit seek damages for injuries and deaths caused by the sudden accelerations, and also for economic loss due to the reduction in market value Toyota owners have experienced due to the bad publicity surrounding the recall.

Products liability lawsuits are based on one or more theories that a product caused injury because: (a) users of the product were not adequately warned of the dangers associated with the product’s use; (b) the product was defectively designed, and the design defect made the product dangerous and caused injury; and (c) the product was defectively manufactured, and the manufacturing defect caused injury.