Personal Injury Law

California Lawyers Chosen in Toyota Personal Injury Lawsuits

By Michael

Personal injury attorneys were chosen out of a pool of 75 legal professionals from across the United States to handle consolidated legal cases against Toyota over issues with cars that led to a nationwide recall.

The Japanese auto maker has faced a slew of personal injury, wrongful death and class action lawsuits after recalling about 8 million vehicles around the world after vehicles were found to have suddenly accelerated.

Paid Advertisement

Newport Beach-based personal injury attorney Wylie Aitken was appointed as a liaison counsel to state lawsuits, according to a ruling recently issued by U.S. District Court Judge James V. Selna. Aitken is one of three plaintiff attorneys selected to keep Selna, who is based in Santa Ana, Calif., up to date on different lawsuit developments that relate to the Toyota case, according to the Orange County Register.

?This litigation is important to millions of Americans,? Aitken said. ?On an individual basis, it’s also important to Orange County and the legal community here.?

The California county is home Toyota?s United States headquarters, and will be the location of federal legal actions against the beleaguered auto maker. Both lawyers working to represent people suing the auto maker, and Toyota?s lawyers, agreed that a combined litigation should take place in Santa Ana.

Selna was chosen in April to preside over the consolidation of about 90 personal injury lawsuits filed across the country against the Japanese auto maker. The Register estimates that the total costs in damages assigned for Toyota to cover may be $5 billion.

Legal experts have said previously that the class-action lawsuits, filed because the recalls led to a drop in resale value on Toyota cars, will be more costly to the company than the damages paid out for the personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits filed against Toyota.

Seventy five lawyers representing people who are suing Toyota went against each other to work the consolidated cases. They recently appeared before Selna to make a case for themselves to be assigned.

Selna issued his judicial on May 14 that created three teams to work the consolidated cases. A nine-member liaison committee for the wrongful death and personal injury cases, another nine-member team that will focus on economic loss and a third nine-person group that will work on core discovery.

Three lawyers, including Aiken, were also selected to keep track of state legal cases.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found at least 52 deaths in automobile accidents that were linked to crashes caused by the accelerator problems in Toyota vehicles, according to the Register.

Full post as published by The Injury Blog on May 23, 2010 (boomark / email).