Complaints to Feds Claim 89 Deaths from Toyota Acceleration
By Jim Greene
Published on May 27, 2010
Complaints submitted to a federal agency blame spontaneous acceleration of Toyota vehicles for 89 deaths in the last ten years, up from a previous estimate of 52 deaths. The complaints also list 57 injuries. The exact cause of the unexpected acceleration incidents has not been determined.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said this week it received more than 6,200 consumer complaints of spontaneous acceleration of Toyota vehicles from 2000 through the middle of this month. The agency's attempts to determine the cause may be aided by a separate 15-month study by the National Academy of Sciences, scheduled to begin in July.
Emergency Call from Doomed Vehicle Spotlights Issue
The spontaneous acceleration issue gained overnight attention last August when off-duty California Highway Patrolman Mark Saylor and three family members died in the fiery high-speed car crash of a Toyota-built sport utility vehicle near San Diego. Moments before death, a family member placed an emergency call saying the vehicle was accelerating out of control, the brakes had failed, and the engine could not be turned off.
After the California crash, other reports of spontaneous acceleration surfaced and Toyota began a recall that eventually involved more than 8 million vehicles worldwide. The company also paid a record $16.4 million fine for waiting four months to notify the NHTSA that Toyota officials were aware of the problem.
Hundreds of lawsuits against Toyota have been filed across the country, seeking compensation for death or injury caused by spontaneous acceleration.
Speculation Shifts from Floor Mats to Design Problems
At first, the acceleration issue was blamed on the use by dealers or individual owners of nonstandard floor mats that interfered with the gas pedal. Speculation soon expanded to include design problems with the gas pedal itself or with the electronic fuel system controls.
A Toyota executive this week said that NHTSA complaint records was insufficient to pinpoint the cause of spontaneous acceleration, but that dealer inspections of recalled vehicles showed no evidence of electronic system problems.
For its part, the NHTSA said that its investigation has shown no evidence of problems with floor mats or sticking gas pedals.
If you have been injured or have lost a loved one due to spontaneous acceleration of a Toyota vehicle, contact an experienced product liability attorney. You may be eligible for financial compensation to deal with medical bills, loss of income, loss of companionship, and pain and suffering.
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