Submitted by Aiken Jacobsen on
A wrongful death lawsuit in California could have a significant impact on future wrongful death cases filed against Toyota and other automakers over claims of defective gas and brake pedals.
The jury selection process was recently started in the wrongful death claim against popular automaker Toyota. The lawsuit was filed against Toyota after a woman was killed in a car accident that was caused by her Toyota Camry's sudden acceleration.
According to the wrongful death claim, the fatal car accident happened due to the car's sudden acceleration that prevented the victim from stopping the vehicle despite pressing against the brake pedal. The vehicle continued to accelerate over 100 miles per hour and hit a telephone pole, fatally injuring the driver.
The victim's family filed the wrongful death lawsuit against Toyota, saying that the vehicle's brakes and gas pedal were defective. The lawsuit claims that the victim's 2006 Toyota Camry had defective gas pedals and brakes and said that the automaker did not include a brake override system to prevent unintended acceleration.
Toyota said that the victim's vehicle was not defective and that the plaintiff's claims of unintended acceleration were false. However, this is not the only wrongful death lawsuit filed against Toyota over claims of unintended acceleration. Despite Toyota saying that their vehicles were not defective, they were forced to recall millions of vehicles for gas-pedal safety issues in 2009 and 2010.
The civil lawsuit trial is expected to last about two months. Many people will be closely watching this case throughout the country as it may have a substantial impact on other wrongful death and personal injury claims against Toyota over defective gas pedals and brake systems.
Source: CNN, "Toyota wrongful death trial kicks off in California," James O'Toole, July 23, 2013
