Chicago Personal Injury Lawyers Blog

Toyota has initiated a recall of the more than 8.5 million affected vehicles with potentially faulty accelerators. The vehicles may be prone to sudden uncontrolled acceleration, which is alleged to have caused a number of crashes and 34 deaths. Congressional hearings are pending on a probe initiated by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration into whether Toyota acted in a timely manner to initiate the recalls.

Toyota is facing a few different types of potential lawsuits such as class action, claims to recover "lost value", shareholder suits and traditional product liability claims initiated on behalf of people killed or severely injured in crashes allegedly caused by the accelerators. As an injury lawyer in Chicago, I pay closest attention to these individual product liability cases. As a matter of fact, this Toyota recall highlights a primary reason why I chose this profession. I get great satisfaction from representing individual families and giving them a voice against the large and powerful corporations and insurance companies. And, it angers me to know that neither Toyota nor federal regulators did anything significant to prevent the problem until enough people started dying. The LA Times reported that, based on its review of federal records pursuant to a Freedom of Information Request, there were 2,600 Toyota and Lexus car owner complaints of sudden acceleration from 2000 to 2010. Furthermore, CBS reported that Toyota was aware that its sudden acceleration defects were related to computer software, not to floor mats, as far back as 2005.

From Toyota's perspective, the 34 deaths thus far attributed to crashes caused by the acceleration problem represent a more than manageable legal risk for a company of Toyota's size. I know this is big business reality, but it still bothers me, especially knowing what they knew and when they knew it.

From my perspective, any of those deaths that could have been prevented should have been prevented.

You can bet Toyota will zealously defend these cases. Toyota is better situated to withstand the costs associated with a lawsuit compared to an unrepresented family of a victim.

If you know someone who has been severely injured in an accident involving a Toyota or Lexus, please do not hesitate to call the Chicago office of Strellis & Field, and we will walk you through your legal options (312) 201-0000.

Click here for a list of vehicles affected by the accelerator or floor mat issues (L.A. Times).

I am interested in technology and science. I believe an understanding of science is crucial to being a successful personal injury lawyer. Whether to better understand the science of medicine or the physics and engineering principles of a complex machine, science is crucial to our practice of law.

I came across an interesting topic titled Quiet Hybrid Cars Pose Risk To Pedestrians that was aired on Science Today. Hybrid cars on city streets are very quiet. If you live in the Chicago, I am sure that you will appreciate anything that would make life easier on the ears; however noise plays an important role in protecting and warning pedestrians that are walking across streets in the city. This is especially true for pedestrians with disabilities. Blind pedestrians rely upon hearing for almost every aspect of their daily lives. Luckily visually disabled persons have resources available to assist them in living independently. Organizations such as The Chicago Lighthouse are there to help.

This Science Today airing reminded me of a case we had in Cook County when our client, a blind pedestrian, was struck by a City of Chicago, Streets and Sanitation, garbage truck.

In that case, our client was legally blind and had been trained by the good folks at The Chicago Lighthouse so that he could live independently, like he was doing on the day when he was returning home from the store. Unfortunately, even the loud noise of a garbage truck, could not prevent our client from being hit and dragged 30 feet from the crosswalk on North Avenue in Chicago. Our client suffered serious injuries including, bilateral femur fractures, a traumatic brain injury (TBI) and serious degloving injuries.

With new hybrid cars populating the roads, it is more important than ever for Illinois drivers to follow the rules of the road in yielding the right of way to pedestrians with disabilities, as outlined in the Illinois Rules Of The Road.

I, like most, would love to live with a minimal environmental footprint. However, with the new technology that will necessarily develop, it is important that pedestrians, those that are not using any fossil fuels by walking, and especially disabled pedestrians are not placed at an increased risk of injury.

Source: Science Today

Source: The Chicago Lighthouse

Source: Cyber Drive Illinois