Personal Injury Law

Toyota Gas Pedal Defect Leads to Wrongful Death Lawsuit

By Michael

A third wrongful death lawsuit has been filed against Toyota for faulty gas pedals sticking to the floor and causing accidents.

The family of 34-year-old Trina Renee Harris filed against the large Japanese automaker after she died in a car accident shortly before Christmas in Houston, Texas. While driving a 2009 Toyota Corolla, Harris was not able to stop and crashed into a cement divider after going through a stop sign, according to the Houston Chronicle.

The car accident lawsuit is the latest among an ever-lengthening saga of problems caused by faulty accelerator pedals that stick and floor mats that pinned accelerator pedals in place within Toyota vehicles around the globe.

Toyota has launched a voluntary recall for millions of vehicles, as dozens of injury, wrongful death and class action lawsuits are filed against the company.

This week, Toyota announced it would be recalling about 400,000 models of their iconic Prius across the globe, Reuters reported. The company?s hybrid gas-electric fueled vehicle would be recalled to modify software in the anti-lock braking system. The recall includes the most recent version of the sedan released during summer of 2009.

Michael Harris, Trina?s husband, filed the suit against Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A., gas pedal manufacturer CTS and the Houston-area store Fred Haas Toyota World, who leased the vehicle to the Harrises. The lawsuit was filed around the same time Toyota announced it would begin fixing the faulty pedals.

?I want those who were negligent to be held responsible. This problem was there before Dec. 18 when she died,? Michael Harris said.

Michael Harris, a U.S. Navy Petty Officer, had just returned from a tour of duty on an aircraft carrier stationed in the Middle East when he learned of the accident. He was in San Diego at the time, and called Toyota right after he returned to the Houston area and learned about Trina?s accident, according to the Chronicle.

Michael Harris said he remembered his wife mentioned there were problems with the accelerator in their vehicle. She told him the car seemed to move, at times, on its own.

Harris said he did not hear back from Toyota when he first called the company to explain what happened to his wife. After learning about the recent recalls, Harris filed for $200 million in actual and punitive damages within the wrongful death lawsuit, claiming the company was grossly negligent.

With the addition of the Prius models, Toyota has recalled more than 8 million vehicles since November 2009.

Full post as published by The Injury Blog on February 13, 2010 (boomark / email).