As reported earlier this week in the Business Wire News section of MRO Magazine, Toyota was keeping the severe reality of the defective brake override system and Electronic Throttle Control System (ETCS) behind closed doors. Toyota admitted to knowing about these problems for a while without informing consumers and documents surfaced which proved liability to Toyota in not notifying consumers of these problems when they were discovered.
The article talks about a man by the name of Bret Quinlan who was in a serious accident while driving his American-Manufactured Toyota Camry. The accident caused him to become a paraplegic. He filed a products liability action against the Toyota Motor Corporation, Toyota Manufacturing Motor, Toyota Motor North American, Inc., Toyota Motor Sales USA, Inc., and King Automotive Management, LLC. The article states: “In March 2014, Toyota entered into a deferred prosecution agreement with the United States Department of Justice in which the company admitted that it mislead consumers by concealing and making deceptive statements about safety issues affecting its vehicles that caused types of unintended acceleration. Toyota subsequently agreed to pay a $1.2 billion financial penalty – to date the largest imposed on a motor vehicle manufacturer.”
Brooks Law Group helps victims of products liability claims like Quinlan’s claim. When a manufacturer of a vehicle, or any other type of product, is aware that the vehicle or product could potentially cause harm to consumers, it is their duty to inform and correct the malfunction to prevent serious harm. In Bret Quinlan’s situation, he was unfortunate to suffer in the way he did and his life will never be the same again. We welcome the opportunity to help individuals who have suffered as a result of a product liability claim. If you or anyone you know was in a single-vehicle accident and was injured, it is possible that it could have been a malfunction of the vehicle that people were not informed about. For more information about these potential claims, we urge you to contact our office.
