By now, just about everybody has heard about Toyota’s recall of some 3,800,000 vehicles to replace the floor mats which were defective and cause the accelerator of a Toyota vehicle to stick. As a result of this defect, Troy Johnson was killed in an automobile accident. That story has apparently been overlooked, and it did not prompt Toyota to issue its largest recall ever in the US. That would take another 4 deaths.
The answer is the risk of liability in future product liability and personal injury lawsuits. Without the right to file such a lawsuit against corporations and individuals such as Toyota for distributing and manufacturing dangerous products that put people’s lives at risk, those corporations and individuals would have no financial incentive to make their products safer.
Toyota recently disclosed to the US government that it is sent mail to owners of several Toyota vehicles, including the Prius hybrid, the Camry, and requested the owners to remove the floor mats from the driver’s side of the automobile, and not to replace them. Toyota stated that the accelerator may become stuck when the floor mat is incompatible or unsecured, which causes the car to accelerate at high speeds, making it difficult to stop, and raises the possibility of causing the passengers and driver to be killed or seriously injured as a result of an automobile accident.
The widow of Troy Johnson told news outlets recently that she wants Toyota to fix the problem now. She also asked the question which defines the decision to recall a vehicle; How many people have to die before Toyota takes this seriously?
Apparently, Toyota’s answer is 5. Mr. Johnson was killed in an automobile accident in 2007, when his car was hit from behind by a 2007 Toyota Camry that had a gas pedal which had allegedly gotten stuck by a floor mat which was defective. The Toyota Camry was travelling at approximately 120 mph when it crashed into Mr. Johnson’s vehicle, caught fire, and killed him instantly. In 2008, Toyota agreed to settle Mr. Johnson’s personal injury and product liability lawsuit. However, it appears that one death was not enough to cause Toyota to initiate a recall.
In 2009, 4 more people were killed in a similar high speed accident. In this accident, a man, his wife, his brother in law, and his 13 year old daughter were killed in an automobile accident. It was only after this accident that Toyota began initiating a recall. Hopefully, the family of these 4 family members will retain an experienced product liability and personal injury to represent their interests, if they have not already done so. There is no doubt that the civil liability exposure is what prompted Toyota to issue a recall.
Maybe if Toyota had initiated a recall following Mr. Johnson’s death, it would have saved 4 other lives. Only the Toyota lawyers, researchers, executives, and engineers have the answer to that. However, the bottom line is that Toyota’s recognition their exposure to substantial civil liability as a result of future accidents caused by floor mats which are defective resulted in the recall.
As a personal injury lawyers, we at Ledger and Associates are proud to represent people who have been injured and the families of people who have lost a loved one as a result of a defective automobile or part, and to play an integral role in making corporations and individuals act responsibly and distribute safe products. Hopefully, Toyota will be able to notify most, if not all, of the 3,800,000 US automobile owners of the recall, and prevent another person from being killed or seriously injured as result of a floor mat that is defective. For a free consultation with one of our product liability and personal injury lawyers contact Ledger and Associates at 1-800-300-0001 or at LedgerLaw.com.
