In an interview with a Knoxville television station, Lieff Cabraser attorney Todd Walburg stated the Yaris “had not been recalled by Toyota, even though it had the same kind of electronic throttle system as the other vehicles that had been recalled.” The complaint alleges:

“The subject 2008 Toyota Yaris was not equipped with a brake override system, also known as smart-throttle technology. Ironically, earlier models of the Toyota Yaris that were sold in Europe were equipped with the Bosch brake override system. Toyota elected not to use the Bosch brake override system in the vehicles that it sold in the United States. ”

Learn why Toyota is legally responsible for the damage and injuries cause by its cars suddenly accelerating.

Carbon monoxide is a colorless and odorless gas that is produced by burning fuel, such as gasoline, wood, paper, natural gas, or kerosene.  When inhaled, carbon monoxide CO quickly enters the blood stream and prevents oxygen from being transported to the body’s cells.

A car used by the group was found running in a closed garage underneath the room.  Friends told The Miami Herald the car had needed a jump-start earlier and could have been left running to keep the battery charged. A door to a staircase up to the room had been left open, and high levels of carbon monoxide were found inside.

It is estimated that each year carbon monoxide poisoning kills 5,000 persons in the U.S. and injures over 10,000 persons.  Many of these deaths are due to faulty or defective products, including lawn mowers, gas stoves, hot water heaters, furnaces, fireplaces or snow blowers.  Exposure can occur even in the outdoors. Cases have been reported of children who suffered carbon monoxide poisoning from exposure to boat and jet-ski exhaust fumes.

Persons who have suffered brain damage, or the families of loved ones who have died, have filed lawsuits against the product manufacturers and/or property owners for the injuries they suffered. Lieff Cabraser represents victims of carbon monoxide poisoning.

Kathleen Recinos of Panorama City, was killed Dec. 19, 2008, when a 2009 Toyota Scion driven by her boyfriend, Brian Martinez, “suddenly and unexpectedly accelerated,” crossed into oncoming traffic on Tampa Avenue in Northridge, California, and struck two oncoming vehicles, according to the lawsuit, filed in federal court in Santa Ana. Recinos was pregnant at the time and Martinez was also killed in the accident.

Lieff Cabraser represents the parents in the wrongful death lawsuit. The complaint alleges that electronic throttle control systems contained in many Toyota models are faulty and have caused hundreds of crashes. The parents also faulted Toyota for failing to include a brake override system that would have cut off the accelerator if the brake and gas pedals were applied simultaneously.

Read the full story on the LA Times website. You can also read a copy of the complaint filed in the case or read more about the lawsuit and similar Toyota sudden acceleration incidents.

DaimlerChrysler appealed a jury’s 2008 verdict awarding $5.08 million to the family, but Friday’s ruling by the 4th Circuit Court of Appeal rejects the company’s claim that the judge presiding over the trial made several errors. The couple initially assumed the 1999 accident had been caused by leaving the car in reverse, but they sued in 2001 after receiving a call from a Los Angeles Times reporter investigating similar “park-to-reverse” complaints about Jeep Grand Cherokees.

A three-judge panel from the 4th Circuit rejected the company’s claim that the suit should be thrown out because the Guillots missed a deadline for suing. The couple didn’t have “the appropriate information to file a claim at the moment the accident occurred,” the court said. A “vehicle defect was never suspected by the investigating officer, and Mr. Guillot blamed himself for the accident for two years,” the ruling says. The court also concluded the jury’s award wasn’t excessive.

Scott Nealey of Lieff Cabraser, a lawyer for the Guillots, said the couple was “extremely pleased” with the court’s ruling. “The most important thing for them was just the vindication of the jury’s verdict,” he said, adding that the company had blamed them for the accident and claimed it was “all their fault.”

Persons who have been injured in accidents involving faulty transmissions, or family members of loved ones who have died, have filed lawsuits against Chrysler and other manufacturers for the injuries they suffered. Lieff Cabraser represents victims of park to reverse defects.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration yesterday proposed a record civil penalty of $16.4 million, less than 2 percent of Toyota projected net profit for the year ending March 31, related to a January recall of 2.3 million U.S. autos for accelerator pedals that allegedly stick. Toyota failed to act in a timely manner after knowing of the problem since at least September 2009, LaHood said.

“It certainly bolsters our cases,” said Robert J. Nelson, a lawyer at San Francisco-based Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein LLP, who has filed 20 lawsuits on behalf of individual clients claiming personal injuries or deaths caused by sudden- acceleration incidents. “It demonstrates Toyota has been less than forthright with the U.S. government and with consumers.”

The Japanese automaker waited at least four months before telling the agency that accelerator pedals might stick, LaHood said yesterday in a statement. Companies have five business days to report safety defects, the agency said.

On March 31, 2010, both the Bates and Dilworth families filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Yamaha Motor Corporation and Yamaha Motor Manufacturing Corporation of America.

Commenting on their daughter, Melissa and Richard Lee Bates, of Southaven, Mississippi, stated:

Photo of Emily Bates

“Emily Ann was a very happy child. She always had a smile on her face, loved her friends and siblings. She was a 6th grader at Southaven Middle School where she played the trumpet in band. When Emily was 4 she took up soccer. Soccer became her passion, playing year round. She had great dreams of playing on the U.S. Olympic Soccer team.”

Commenting on their daughter, Aundria and Thomas Dilworth, Olive Branch, Mississippi, stated:

Photo of Lauren Dilworth

“Lauren Elizabeth was an amazing child her entire life. She was an honor roll student until her untimely death, she was in the gifted programs at both Hampton Cove Elementary in Huntsville, Alabama, and at Lewisburg Middle School. These programs allowed her to attend Space Camp in Huntsville, Alabama. She was always interested in dance and was able to take 2 years of ballet while our family lived in Huntsville, Alabama before moving to Mississippi.

Mark P. Chalos of the national plaintiffs’ law firm Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP, is representing  both the Bates and Dilworth families in wrongful death lawsuit against Yamaha Motor Corporation and Yamaha Motor Manufacturing Corporation of America.

“The lawsuit charges that the Yamaha Rhino is dangerously unstable and contains multiple design and engineering flaws increasing the likelihood of fatal injuries to occupants in the event of an accident,” stated Mr. Chalos. “Yamaha’s disregard for safety and the numerous defects in the Rhino, as alleged in the complaint, led to the deaths of Emily Ann Bates and Lauren Elizabeth Dilworth.”

The technical service bulletin went to every U.S. Toyota dealership in late August 2002 after some customers reported their vehicles were speeding up unexpectedly.

“Some 2002 model year Camry vehicles may exhibit a surging during light throttle input at speeds between 38-42 mph,” the bulletin states. “The Engine Control Module (ECM) calibration has been revised to correct this condition.”

Read the full article on CNN.com.

Lieff Cabraser represents victims of Toyota and Lexus sudden acceleration accidents in personal injury lawsuits.

The evening of November 1, 2008, Andrew and a friend drove the brand new Jetta to another friend’s house. After visiting, Andrew and his friend started to return to the Fiedler’s home. Both Andrew and his friend were seat belted into the vehicle.

At approximately 8:22 p.m., while traveling on Holbens Valley Road, in the County of Lehigh, Pennsylvania, the 2008 Jetta S lost control.  It struck a guard rail, causing it to fishtail, so that the rear of the vehicle was facing the opposite direction from their initial travel. The left rear was then struck by an oncoming vehicle.

During the impact, the inside back support part of the seat frame of Andrew’s seat – the part that connects the reclineable back of the seat to the lower frame of the seat – sheered into two pieces, causing Andrew’s seat to collapse backward on the right side. As a result, Andrew was no longer supported by the seat. Nor was he restrained by the seat belt.

The force of the collision propelled Andrew toward the right rear of the vehicle. Andrew’s head hit an area to the right of the rear seat in the right rear of the passenger compartment, shattering his skull and killing him.

Why Volkswagen Is Liable

Wendy R. Fleishman of the national plaintiffs’ law firm Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP, is representing Kathleen and James Fiedler in a wrongful death lawsuit the parents filed against Volkswagen of America. The complaint charges that a defectively designed and manufactured car seat in the 2008 Jetta S played a direct role in the death of Andrew Fiedler.

“Absent the cheap and poorly made seat support in the Jetta which broke in the collision, the complaint charges that Andrew would have walked away from the accident and be alive today,” stated Ms. Fleishman.

“Andrew touched and filled the lives of so many with joy in a very short time. He struggled initially in college, but he found his focus and decided to major in Hotel and Resort Management. He aspired to open his own restaurant one day,” Mrs. Fiedler stated. “We hope that this lawsuit prompts Volkswagen to manufacture cars that are in fact safe, not simply advertised as being safe. Other parents should not suffer the profound grief we have experienced.”

Learn more about the importance of well-designed and constructed car seats how a defective seat that collapses in a car accident can be fatal.

In their lawsuits, Andrew Flury of Pasadena and retired Army Col. Harry Williams of Woodbridge say they suffered severe injuries after the cars they were driving suddenly accelerated — an issue that generated a major recall of millions of Toyotas.

Their attorney, Todd Walburg of Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, blamed an electronic throttle system for the unintended acceleration and said the system also operated without a brake override system that could have prevented throttle problems.

Read the full article on the Washington Post website. Learn more about Toyota sudden acceleration accidents and the rights of victims.

On April 7, 2010 the San Francisco Chronicle reported that according to documents that were submitted to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Toyota  was aware as early as 2006 that accelerator pedals could stick, causing unintended acceleration.  The first report involved a floor mat that had interfered with the accelerator pedal in a 2005 Toyota Prius.

March 2010 Update – Toyota Warned Dealerships in 2002 About Surging Throttles; Also, Owners Say Toyota Recall Repairs Aren’t Working

On March 23, 2010, CNN reported that it had obtained documents showing that Toyota warned dealerships as far back as 2002 that Camry owners were complaining about throttles surging, and recommended adjustments in an electronic control unit to fix the problem. The technical service bulletin went to every U.S. Toyota dealership in late August 2002 after some customers reported their vehicles were speeding up unexpectedly. (Toyota maintains that its current problems do not involve electronic components.)

On March 5, 2010, the Los Angeles Times reported that more than 60 drivers have complained of sudden acceleration incidents despite the fact that their cars were repaired by Toyota Motor Corp. in the current recalls, according to new data released March 4th.  The latest figure, released by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, significantly increases the total number of complaints involving repaired vehicles, which was less than 10 on Tuesday.

The new complaints allege several accidents and at least three injuries resulting from runaway unintended acceleration despite the vehicles’ undergoing a series of modifications at Toyota dealerships designed to resolve the issue. Read the full story on the LA Times website.

Original post

Since 2002, there have been multiple government investigations and over 2,000 consumer complaints of unintended acceleration of Toyota vehicles. However, only in 2010, did Toyota apparently acknowledge the full scope of the problem. As Bill Vlasic, automotive reporter for the New York Times, has observed,

At almost every step that lead to its current predicament, Toyota underestimated the severity of the sudden-acceleration problem affecting its most popular cars. It has veered from discounting early reports of problems to overconfidently announcing diagnoses and insufficient fixes.

Toyota claims it has developed a fix to the gas pedal of its vehicles that will stop sudden acceleration.  Yet, CTS Corp. of Elkhart, Ind., the manufacturer of the pedals, said in a statement that it had “deep concern that there is widespread confusion and incorrect information” about its products linked to the sudden-acceleration issue and pedal denies they were defectively made:

CTS stated that since the problem of sudden unintended acceleration has been reported to have existed in some Lexus vehicles and Toyota vehicles going back to 1999 when CTS did not even make this product for any customer, CTS believes that the rare slow return pedal phenomenon, which may occur in extreme environmental conditions, should absolutely not be linked with any sudden unintended acceleration incidents.

Of the 2,000 complaints of sudden acceleration, just 5% blamed a sticking gas pedal.  No government investigation of sudden-acceleration problems in Toyota vehicles has identified a sticking pedal as a potential cause.

The reason why Toyota’s cars are suddenly accelerating may be due to a software or other defect in the vehicles’ electronic throttles. As noted in a Los Angeles Times investigative report,

The electronic throttle system uses sensors, microprocessors and electric motors, rather than a traditional link such as a steel cable, to connect the driver’s foot to the engine. In recent interviews, two former NHTSA administrators, Ricardo Martinez and Joan Claybrook, have said they believe that some kind of electronic glitch may be causing the Toyota problems. Similar conclusions are being drawn by independent automotive safety experts, forensic mechanics and automotive electronics researchers, as well as many consumers.

The Washington Post reported in January:

Toyota Motor began facing complaints of runaway cars years ago, but the company did not install “brake override” systems in those vehicles, even as several other automakers deployed the technology to address such malfunctions.  The brake override systems allow a driver to stop a car with the footbrake even if the accelerator is depressed and the vehicle is running at full throttle. The systems are an outgrowth of new electronics in cars, specifically in engine control.

This system – known as “brake to idle” or “brake override” - is common in vehicles manufactured by other companies.  The article continues:

“If the brake and the accelerator are in an argument, the brake wins,” a spokesman at Chrysler said in describing the systems, which it began installing in 2003. Volkswagen, Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz also install such systems in at least some of their cars, the companies and industry experts said, some as far back as 10 years ago. General Motors installs brake override in all of its cars in which it is possible for the engine at full throttle to overwhelm the brakes.

Subsequently, Toyota announced that most of its new 2010 vehicle will be equipped with brake override.  Joan Claybrook, former NTHSA administrator, observed last year that when Toyota announced that it was recalling the floor mats, the automaker also agreed to install an electronic brake override in many of the cars affected.  “If it was just a floor mat problem, taking the floor mat out would correct the problem — so why are they putting the brake override in?” Claybrook stated to the Washington Post.

On February 22, 2010, Toyota announced it was installing a brake override system in three more models:  2005-2010 Tacomas, 2009-2010 Venzas and 2008-2010 Sequoias.  Toyota previously said it was installing the systems in five other existing models.

Sudden Unintended Acceleration Lawsuit Allegations

In a lawsuit filed against Toyota by a client represented by Lieff Cabraser the complaint charges:

Beginning in the late 1990s, Toyota manufactured, distributed and sold vehicles with an electronic throttle control system (“ETC”).

Unlike that of traditional throttle control systems, where a physical linkage connects the accelerator pedal to the engine throttle, in the ETC system, the engine throttle is controlled by electronic signals sent from the gas pedal to the engine throttle.  A sensor at the accelerator detects how far the gas pedal is depressed and transmits that information to a computer module which controls a motorized engine throttle.  The computer module determines how far the accelerator is depressed, and, in turn, tells the engine throttle motor how far to open the throttle valve.

When Toyota first introduced the ETC, they continued to include a mechanical linkage between the accelerator and the engine throttle control.

Beginning with the 2002 model year, however, Defendants began manufacturing, distributing, and selling vehicles without such mechanical linkage.

Further, Defendants’ ETC system also fails to include a failsafe measure incorporated by other vehicle manufacturers which instructs the ETC system to automatically reduce the engine to idle whenever the brakes are applied without success.

The combination of the lack of these two safety systems allows the ETC to set the engine throttle to any position regardless of the position of the accelerator, and with no mechanical or electronic failsafe mechanism to allow the driver to effectively stop or slow the car in such circumstances, resulting in numerous injuries and deaths.

Toyota knew that a properly designed brake-to-idle override system was necessary to allow drivers to bring a vehicle under control in the event of a sudden acceleration incident.  Toyota made the following statement in November 2009 when they announced their solution to the sudden acceleration problem:  “In addition, as a separate measure independent of the vehicle-based remedy, Toyota will install a brake override system into the involved Camry, Avalon, and Lexus ES 350, IS 350 and IS 250 models as an extra measure of confidence. This system cuts engine power in case of simultaneous application of both the accelerator pedal and brake pedals.”

Yet, Toyota has failed to install this safety feature on all of the affected vehicles, including the vehicle the subject of this complaint.

The complaint further charges that

• Toyota was aware for years its vehicles were susceptible to incidents of sudden, unintended acceleration, posing a significant risk of injury and death to vehicle occupants, other motorists, and pedestrians.
• Toyota never made any significant changes to improve the acceleration system and the electrical system, in spite of the availability of several safe and inexpensive alternative designs and feasible modifications.

Learn more about the Toyota recall and sudden acceleration dangers or contact the personal injury attorneys at Lieff Cabraser who are representing families of loved ones who died in Toyota vehicle accidents.