Millions of people either drive or ride in a vehicle every day, including tens of thousands of people in the Nashville area. Although the majority of vehicles on the road are safe to drive, there are some cars and trucks that unfortunately have defects. When one of these auto defects causes someone to be hurt or even killed, sometimes the auto manufacturer can be at fault.
Lawsuits against Toyota Motor Corp. aren’t new, as the company has faced hundreds of them in recent years in association with the sudden acceleration problem that many of the company’s vehicles experienced. However, while most of those trials focused on a defective device, the lawyer in this case claims that Toyota could have installed a safety device but didn’t. The family of a woman who was killed in an accident is seeking $20 million in damages for their loss.
The family’s attorney claims that the Toyota could have installed a brake override system in the woman’s Camry, which was installed in some of the company’s cars overseas. The Camry was marketed as one of the safest vehicles on the road, however it failed to stop when the woman depressed the brakes. She ultimately lost control of the vehicle and collided with a steel pole.
If the court finds that Toyota was negligent and that they could have done more to make the vehicle safe, it may reward the victim’s family the restitution it is seeking. Anyone in the Nashville area who has been injured by a car defect might want to contact an injury lawyer.
Source: The Los Angeles Times, “Toyota trial opens in suit over fatal crash,” Jerry Hirsch, August 8, 2013.