Maryland Car Accident Attorney Blog
Defective automotive equipment can be just as deadly as a drunken driver when it comes to traffic accidents and fatalities on Maryland roadways. As a Baltimore car accident lawyer and personal injury attorney, I understand how poorly designed or maintained safety systems on cars, trucks and commercial motor vehicles can result in catastrophic roadway crashes leading to injuries and possible death.
Both the vehicle manufacturers and the maintenance facilities for those vehicles must do their part to ensure that all systems work as designed. Defective equipment can ihis include braking systems, steering components, lights and seatbelts, among others. If any system fails to work properly it could cause an accident or make any future accident more dangerous for the occupants, not to mention those motorists in the vicinity of a serious crash.
According to news articles, a law suit against the Japanese auto maker, Toyota, claims that the company knew as far back as 2003 about the possible acceleration risk on some of its vehicles. Based on reports, a Toyota technician stated in 2003 that sudden acceleration is an “extremely dangerous problem.” This was a full six years prior to the first of many recalls that the company has had to issue.
According to a suit filed against the auto giant, the unnamed Toyota employee “requested immediate action” following an investigation of alleged unintended acceleration reports. Back in 2003, that unidentified Toyota employee reported wrote in a field report, “We are also much afraid of frequency of this problem in near future.”
According to news articles, Toyota believes that reliable scientific evidence will demonstrate the safety of their vehicles through ongoing investigations which it expects to bring forth in court.
As a result of the unintended acceleration issue, more than 300 federal and state lawsuits have been lodged against Toyota. These include proposed class action suits dealing with economic losses, as well as personal injury and wrongful death claims due to sudden-acceleration incidents.
Toyota Knew in 2003 of Acceleration Risk, Suit Says, SFGate.com, August 2, 2010