Posts Tagged ‘recalls’
Wednesday, May 5th, 2010
The Toyota Motor Corporation has been in the spotlight now for almost a year due to numerous recalls, investigations and complaints about Toyota manufactured vehicles. Toyota announced its first major recall late last year after numerous complaints were filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) complaining of sudden acceleration problems in Toyota manufactured vehicles. Sadly, it was not until a family of four was killed when the Lexus SUV they were driving in accelerated out of control that the recall was finally issued and national attention was drawn to the issue. That first recall covered over 4 million vehicles and was followed by two more recalls in January and February bringing the recall total to over 8 million vehicles. The United States Department of Transpiration, congressional leaders and watchdog groups launched investigations shortly after the recalls were announced to answer questions regarding when the automaker giant was aware of the defects and what they did with that knowledge.
Under United States law, a manufacturer has a legal duty to make all reasonable efforts to locate any defects in a product they manufacture and once they are aware of a defect they must notify consumers as well as the appropriate regulatory agency. The U.S. Department of Transportation recently levied a $16.4 million fine against Toyota for failing to notify regulators in a timely manner as required under the laws of the United States. The fine is the largest fine ever ordered by the USDOT. Toyota also announced that it will not challenge the fine but fell short of admitting any wrongdoing.
The recalls and defective automobiles have left millions of consumers with financial and physical damages. The number of accidents and deaths attributable to Toyota manufactured defective automobiles continues to rise. Millions more have been affected by the loss of value of their Toyota manufactured vehicles. As a result, many people are asking what kind of compensation they can expect for the losses they have suffered. The value of your Toyota recall claim depends on what type of claim you have, according to California Toyota recall attorney Emery Ledger of Ledger & Associates.
At the moment, there are two basic types of claims that have been filed against Toyota. The first type of claim is for injuries or wrongful death stemming from a collision caused by a defective Toyota manufactured vehicle while the second is for economic losses. In personal injury cases, the laws of negligence apply. Assuming that the elements required to prove negligence have been met, then you can expect to receive compensation for economic and possibly non-economic damages. Examples of economic damages include: medical bills, lost wages and damages to your vehicle. Non-economic damages are what people typically refer to as “pain and suffering”. The value of your claim will depend on a number of factors including: type and severity of injuries you received; your age and earning capacity at the time of the collision; the amount of fault attributed to Toyota; whether you file in state or federal court; and various other factors specific to your case.
The best way to determine the value of your personal injury case against Toyota is to consult with an experienced California Toyota recall attorney. Attorney Emery Ledger of Ledger & Associates will be happy to provide you with a free and confidential detailed evaluation of your Toyota personal injury case at your convenience. Feel free to contact his office at 1-800-300-0001 or visit him online at www.ledgerlaw.com
Tags: acceleration problems, accident, accidents, automaker, automobiles, deaths, Negligence, nhtsa, Personal Injury, personal injury case, personal injury cases, personal injury law, personal injury lawsuit, recalls, regulators, safety, safety administration, states, sudden acceleration, suffering, toy, toyota, toyota automobil, Toyota damages, Toyota economic damages, toyota fault, toyota motor, Toyota Personal Injury, toyota recall, Toyota Recall Attorney, traffic, wrongful death
Posted in Toyota Recall Attorney | No Comments »
Monday, May 3rd, 2010
If you are one of the thousands of people that have been affected by the numerous Toyota recalls over the past year, you may be wondering how the latest decision made by the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML) will affect your case or lawsuit. First, the JPML is a panel of federal judges they are charged with looking into federal cases wherein a number of Plaintiffs have filed suit for the same or very similar reasons and determining whether judicial economy would be better served if the cases were moved to a single court for the pre-trial discovery phase. The panel also then selects the location for the centralization of the cases if the decision is made to centralize. Centralization is not the same as filing a class action lawsuit. When cases are centralized at the federal level, they are only moved to a single court for the pre-trial or discovery phase of the legal process.
In the case of the many lawsuits that have been filed against Toyota – and those that are expected to be filed – the decision was made to centralize them due to the fact that the cases will all rely on much of the same evidence and will require testimony from many of the same individuals. The idea is that by centralizing the cases attorneys for both sides do not have to duplicate efforts therefore raising the costs of the lawsuits as well as taking considerably longer to conclude the cases. Interestingly, the decision was made to include both personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits in the centralization order along with the economic loss lawsuits.
So what does this decision mean to you is you are considering filing a lawsuit against Toyota? In practical terms, it means that all the pre-trial filings and discovery will be conducted in California. Regardless of where you live or where you injuries took place, the case will be moved to California for the time being. This also means that a single judge – Judge Selna – will be responsible for making all the decision regarding pre-trial discovery issues in all the Toyota cases. Pre-trial discovery issued can be crucial decisions in any legal case. Issues regarding who can be deposed, what evidence is admissible and what experts can be used are generally determined at this stage in the process. If your case is not resolved during the discovery stage, then it will be returned back to the originally court for trial; however the decisions that were made at the pre-trial stage may have already affected the outcome of the case.
If you have been injured, either physically or financially, by a Toyota manufactured vehicle and would like to speak to California Toyota recall attorney about how the decision to centralize the cases may effect your specific situation, then please feel free to contact Emery Ledger at his law firm of Ledger & Associates. Attorney Ledger can be reached at 1-800-300-0001 or online at www.ledgerlaw.com.
Tags: attorney ledger, attorneys, cat, class action, class action lawsuit, discovery phase, filing a lawsuit, jpml, judicial panel on multidistrict litigation, lawsuits, ledgerlaw.com, litigation, Personal Injury, plaintiff, plaintiffs, recalls, testimony, toyota, toyota recall, Toyota Recall Attorney, Toyota recalls, vehicle, wrongful death, wrongful death law, wrongful death lawsuit, wrongful death lawsuits
Posted in Toyota Recall Attorney | No Comments »
Sunday, May 2nd, 2010
In the wake of the Toyota recalls over the past year, a number of different types of lawsuits have been filed across the country and around the world. The lawsuits stem from recalls covering over 8 million Toyota manufactured vehicles. The first recall came last year after numerous complaints about unintended acceleration in Toyota manufactured vehicles ultimately ended in the death of a family of four that were driving a Lexus SUV in San Diego. The vehicle began to accelerate and the driver was unable to stop it ending with the vehicle plummeting into a canyon and killing all four occupants. Sadly, that was just the start of a number of stories of deaths and injuries allegedly caused by defects in Toyota manufactured vehicles. As a result of the numerous defects that have now become the subject of a series of recalls, people across the country have begun to file lawsuits against the automaker giant.
The lawsuits that have been filed fall into two main categories: personal injury and economic loss. The personal injury lawsuits are generally individual lawsuits that claim a Toyota manufactured vehicle was responsible for injuries or death to the Plaintiff or a member of the Plaintiff’s family. The other type of lawsuit is for economic losses. The economic loss lawsuits have generally been filed as class action lawsuits. A class action lawsuit is when a group of injured (physically or financially) Plaintiff’s file a lawsuit as a group. This can be done when the facts of each individual person’s case are similar and the evidence needed to prove the cases are largely the same.
The Toyota economic loss lawsuits are based on the idea that consumers that purchased a Toyota manufactured vehicle have now suffered an economic loss as a result of the recalls over the past year, according to California Toyota recall attorney Emery Ledger of Ledger & Associates. Unlike a personal injury lawsuit, a Plaintiff in an economic loss lawsuit does not have to have been involved in an actual accident to recover compensation. The argument in an economic loss claim is that the Plaintiff purchased the vehicle expecting that it would retain a certain amount of its value. In the case of Toyota, most people know that Toyota’s historically retained a larger portion of their value than other vehicles throughout the years. Therefore, if you purchased a Toyota vehicle last year, you had a reasonable expectation that it would still be worth a large percentage of its original value this year. However, because of the recalls over the last year and the loss of consumer confidence in the once giant automaker, Toyota manufactured vehicles have lost value in the marketplace. If you are the owner of a Toyota manufactured vehicle, that means that the asset that you reasonably believed to have a certain worth is now worth less. To put it in simple terms, let’s say that you purchased a Toyota manufactured vehicle last year for $30,000. If that vehicle has historically retained 90% of its value after the first year than it should be worth $27,000 today. If the fair market value of the vehicle has dropped to $20,000 because of the recalls and the drop in consumer confidence in Toyota manufactured vehicles, then you have a $7,000 economic loss caused by Toyota. That is the argument for an economic loss lawsuit.
If you feel that you have suffered an economic loss or a personal injury as a result of a Toyota manufactured vehicle, please feel free to contact California Toyota recall attorney Emery Ledger of Ledger & Associates at 1-800-300-0001 or online at www.ledgerlaw.com.
Tags: class action lawsuits, personal injury law, personal injury lawsuit, personal injury lawsuits, plaintiff, recalls, toy recall, toyota, toyota class action, toyota class action lawsuit, toyota compensation, Toyota complaint, toyota deaths, Toyota lawsuits, Toyota Personal Injury, toyota recall, Toyota Recall Attorney, Toyota recalls, toyota vehicle
Posted in Toyota Recall Attorney | No Comments »
Thursday, April 29th, 2010
In the last year, Toyota Motor Corporation has issued voluntary recalls on over 8 million of its vehicles worldwide and the number continues to climb. The first recall covering over four million vehicles was announced late last year and came after numerous complaints were filed with the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration regarding unintended acceleration problems. The complaints – some dating back years – all complained of Toyota manufactured vehicles that accelerated without warning or that could not be stopped by pushing the brake. The final push for Toyota to issue the recall came when a family of four was killed in a Toyota manufactured Lexus SUV that accelerated out of control causing the death of all four occupants. That recall became known as the “accelerator entrapment” recall. The next recall was announced in January and covered 2.3 million vehicles for similar issues. This recall, however, was blamed on a defect in the pedal itself and became known as the “sticky pedal” recall. Another recall was issued in February and two more have been announced just this month.
The fine that was ordered this month by the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) comes after an investigation initiated by the USDOT as to whether Toyota addressed the potential defects in its vehicles in a timely manner as required under United States law. The conclusion of the investigation was that Toyota did NOT notify regulators and consumers as quickly as required under the law. U.S. laws regarding defective products have numerous requirements for what a company must do in the event of a defective product. In essence, the company must make all efforts to investigate a potential defect, must report the defect to U.S. regulators, must notify consumers and must repair, replace of refund the product.
The fine that was issued by the USDOT this month is based on their conclusion that for the defects covered in the January recall of 2.3 million vehicles Toyota did not notify the proper authorities or consumers in a timely manner. The fine amount of $16.4 million was the limit allowed under current United States laws. In other words, authorities were not permitted, under the law, to order a fine greater than the $16.4 million. Had a cap not been in place for the maximum fine that a single manufacturer can face, the total fine could have reached over $13 billion. Absent the cap, the law allows a fine of $6000 per vehicle covered in the recall. In reality, $16.4 million dollars for a corporation that has annual sales in the billions isn’t as stiff of a fine as it initially sounds. While authorities were not able to fine Toyota more than the $16.4 million for the January recall, they could issue more fines based on other recalls. Reports are that they are looking into the first recall to decide whether Toyota violated any notice laws and requirements during that recall. If so, another fine could be forthcoming for the giant automaker.
If you have been personally affected by the Toyota recalls and would like further information regarding your legal options, please feel free to call California Toyota recall attorney Emery Ledger at his law firm Ledger & Associates. He can be reached at 1-800-300-0001 or you may contact him through his website at 1-800-300-0001.
Tags: acceleration, acceleration problems, accelerator, attorney, auto, automaker, complaint, defective products, killed, lexus recall, occupants, recalls, toyota, toyota motor, toyota recall, Toyota Recall Attorney, Toyota recalls
Posted in Toyota Recall Attorney | No Comments »
Wednesday, April 28th, 2010
In the wake of the recent Toyota recalls covering over 8 million vehicles and counting as well as numerous fatalities and injury accidents, litigation has been filed in various states against the giant automaker and more is expected in the near future. In cases like these, where the Defendant is a corporation, the Plaintiff often has a choice as to whether they want to file the case in State or Federal court. In order to file a lawsuit such as this in federal court, the case must either address a violation of federal law OR be considered a diversity case. A diversity case is one in which the parties are located in different states AND the amount in controversy exceeds $75,000. The requirement that the parties be located in different states can get complicated in the case of a corporation, but where the corporation is registered, where their main office is located and where they have done business can all be considered when deciding where they are located for purposes of the diversity test. Not surprisingly, a number of lawsuits have been filed against Toyota in federal court and more are anticipated. With the number of lawsuits expected to climb, the United States Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML) has stepped in and ordered that the cases be centralized in California. Why was this done? Who is the JPML and what effect will this decision have on the litigation?
First, the JPML was created by an act of Congress back in 1968 and has two main functions. First, the Panel looks at cases filed in U.S. Federal Courts to determine if they involve a common question of fact that would serve judicial economy by bringing all the cases into one court. Second, the Panel decides where the cases will be heard if they are centralized and who the Judge will be that hears them. This is NOT the same as joining the cases for the purposes of a class action. Under a centralization order from the JPML, the cases are only brought under the jurisdiction of a single court through the pre-trial discovery stage of the proceedings. If a case is not terminated at the end of the pre-trial discovery stage, then it is remanded back to its original court of jurisdiction. The idea behind the centralization order is to prevent duplication of discovery efforts and allow the parties to work together to conserve resources for the parties as well as the judiciary.
In the Toyota cases, the JMPL has ordered that the cases be centralized in California, due in large part to the fact that the majority of the cases filed to date have been filed in California. Additionally, Toyota’s U.S. Division’s headquarters are in Torrence, California which is where the JMPL has ordered that the pre-trial process take place. U.S District Judge James V. Selna has been appointed as the Judge that will oversee the pre-trial phase of the lawsuits.
While Judge Selna will not hear cases that ultimately go to trial (unless they were originally filed in his court), the decision to centralize these cases can have a huge effect on the outcomes for the Plaintiffs. As the Judge that oversees the pre-trial discovery process, Judge Selna will make important decisions about admissibility of evidence, testimony of witnesses and many other crucial issues. If the cases are not settled or dismissed by the time that discovery process is done, then they will be returned to their original court and another Judge will have chance to impact the outcome. For now, however, the future of many Toyota recall lawsuits rests in the hands of Judge Selna.
If you have additional questions, or have been personally injured by one of the Toyota recalled vehicles, please feel free to contact California Toyota recall attorney Emery Ledger of Ledger & Associates at 1-800-300-0001 or visit him online at www.ledgerlaw.com
Tags: jurisdiction, law, lawsuit, lawsuits, litigation, million vehicles, plaintiff, plaintiffs, recalls, recent news, states, toyota, Toyota Accident Attorney, Toyota lawsuit, toyota recall, Toyota Recall Attorney, Toyota recalls, witness, witnesses
Posted in Toyota Recall Attorney | No Comments »
Thursday, April 22nd, 2010
Toyota Motor Corporation said Monday that it will not contest the record $16.4 million dollars in fines levied by United States safety regulators because the company did not inform the proper authorities as soon as it knew of problems with defective accelerator pedals in a number of its cars. The fines are the result of controversy surrounding the 8.5 million-and growing-Toyota made vehicles that have been recalled in the last year. As you may be aware, the recalls started last fall with the first recall prompted by the runaway Lexus SUV that killed all four occupants in San Diego. That recall was followed by recalls number two and three in December and February. In total, over 8.5 million vehicles have been recalled and Toyota has just announced additional recalls.
Since the original round of recalls, lawmakers, regulators and advocates have been speculating about exactly when Toyota knew about the defective parts. Under United States law, a manufacturer must make a good faith effort to find any defective parts and must report those defects that it finds immediately. They must also repair or replace any defective parts. Many critics have questioned when Toyota became aware of the problems and have asked why nothing was done sooner. The record fine – while not an admit ion of guilt on the part of Toyota – says a lot to some people.
There have been at least 50 deaths attributable to the Toyota defects and hundreds of accidents. At last count the number of lawsuits filed in the United States against the automotive giant was approaching 100. The fine Toyota has agreed to pay may be just the tip of the iceberg as far as the financial cost of the defects. Under the laws of negligence as applied in California, if you were involved in an accident in which a Toyota manufactured vehicle was responsible for the collision, you may be entitled to financial compensation for the injuries you sustained in the accident.
Under the laws of negligence, if a person, or entity, is responsible for damages that you have suffered, then they must compensate you for those damages. Much of the time, this involves a negligent driver in a car accident. It can, however, be a company that is the negligent party. If a defective part in a vehicle was the cause, or part of the cause, of an accident, then that may be considered negligence on the part of the company that manufactured the part.
What this may mean for you, if you were injured in an accident involving a Toyota manufactured vehicle, is that you may have a legal claim against Toyota for injuries that were caused by the accident. The only way to know whether you have a valid personal injury lawsuit is to consult with an experienced California personal injury attorney. The laws of negligence are very complicated and made even more so when a large corporation is involved. If you would like a free detailed evaluation of your potential personal injury claim, please contact personal injury attorney Emery Ledger of Ledger & Associates. He can be reached at 1-800-300-0001 or you may visit his website at www.ledgerlaw.com
Tags: accelerator, accelerator pedal, accident, attorney, authorities, auto, car accident, cars, cat, claim, compensation, damages, deaths, ego, emery, emery ledger, good faith, injury, injury claim, juries, killed, law, lawmakers, lawsuit, lawsuits, Ledger, ledgerlaw.com, legal claim, lexus, million vehicles, Negligence, negligent driver, noun, occupants, Personal Injury, personal injury attorney, personal injury claim, personal injury law, personal injury lawsuit, recalls, regulators, safety, safety regulators, states, toy, toyota, toyota motor, united states, vehicle
Posted in Toyota Recall Attorney | No Comments »
Sunday, March 21st, 2010
In lieu of the three recent Toyota recalls, many people are asking what legal options they may have if they have been injured in an accident involving a recalled vehicle, according to Los Angeles personal injury attorney Emery Ledger of Ledger & Associates. With over 8.5 million vehicles recalled in three separate recalls over the last six months, the number of accidents and deaths attributable to recalled vehicles continues to climb. The latest reports link over 50 deaths and hundreds of accidents to recalled Toyota manufactured vehicles. According to complaint filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), complaints involving accidents go back as far as the mid 1990’s, although cars that old are not currently part of one of the recalls. If you have been injured in an accident with a recalled vehicle, what are your legal options?
According to Los Angeles personal injury attorney Emery Ledger of Ledger & Associates, you may have a personal injury claim against the manufacturer. While each car accident has a unique set of facts, they all operate under the rules of negligence. Negligence, in legal terms, means fault or blame. In most car accidents, the negligent party is one of the drivers involved in the accident. Maybe someone ran a stop light or drifted into another lane. These are typical examples of negligence. You may not realize that a company can also be negligent.
Negligence basically requires that four elements be proven: Duty of care; breach of duty; causation; and damages, says Los Angeles personal injury attorney Emery Ledger. A vehicle manufacturer generally owes a duty of care to the people that will be driving, or riding, in a vehicle that they produce. If they have produced a vehicle with a defective part, then the argument is that they have breached their duty of care to the passengers in the vehicle. If that defective part is the cause of the accident, then causation has been met. Lastly, if someone is injured in the accident, then the damages element has also been met. While this is an overly simplified analysis of the elements of negligence, it gives you an idea how a vehicle manufacturer can be held responsible for injuries suffered in a car accident.
Additionally, in many states – California among them – more than one party can be held responsible for an accident. This is called a “comparative negligence” theory, according to Los Angeles personal injury attorney Emery Ledger. What this means is that a vehicle manufacturer and a driver could both share the blame for and accident. Only an experienced Los Angeles personal injury attorney can evaluate the specific facts and circumstances surrounding your case, but if you have been injured in a car accident involving a recalled vehicle, then you should seek the guidance of an attorney as soon as possible.
For an evaluation of you case, or if you would like additional information, contact Los Angeles personal injury attorney Emery Ledger of Ledger & Associates at 1-800-300-0001 or visit him online at www.ledgerlaw.com.
Tags: causation, claim, comparative negligence, damages, deaths, duty of care, elements of negligence, emery, emery ledger, fault, four elements, highway traffic safety, injury, injury claim, istration, juries, law, Ledger, legal options, legal terms, los angeles personal injury attorney, million vehicles, national highway traffic, national highway traffic safety, national highway traffic safety administration, Negligence, nhtsa, Personal Injury, personal injury attorney, personal injury claim, recalls, safety, toy, toyota, toyota recall, traffic, traffic safety administration, typical examples, vehicle
Posted in Toyota Recall Attorney | No Comments »
