Stockton Injury Lawyer Blog

The California state Assembly has voted in favor of the nation's first rental car recall bill which requires rental car companies to remove recalled vehicles from the road.

The bill would close a loophole that allows rental car companies to continue using recalled vehicles, unlike auto dealers who are not allowed to sell or lease cars that have been recalled. Assemblyman Bill Morning, D-Monterey, stated "Consumers need to know that when they rent these cars, that these cars are safe."

If you have been injured in a car accident where a faulty car part may be to blame, it is essential to contact an experienced Stockton personal injury lawyer at once to protect your rights and begin an investigation. In any car accident, several factors may contribute to the harm, leading to multiple claims. Not only is driver error an issue, but if a defective auto part is at fault, the manufacturer or distributor may be found liable in a product liability or negligence lawsuit.

The bill was written after the death of two California women who died when the steering failed on a Chrysler PT Cruiser they had rented from Enterprise Rental Car in central California. The car caught fire after colliding with a truck. Although the rental car company had received notice of a PT Cruiser recall, it continued to lease the vehicles.

Continue reading "California Bill Requires Rental Car Companies To Remove Recalled Cars From Road" »

Earlier this week, Toyota Motor Corporation and the survivors of the late CHP Officer Mark Saylor reach a confidential settlement in the California wrongful death lawsuit stemming from the tragic crash that claimed the life of Saylor, his wife, daughter and brother-in-law. The accident drew national attention to the issue of sudden acceleration and prompted Toyota to recall millions of vehicles due to defective parts.

Hundreds of lawsuits have been filed around the country as a result of the problems experienced with Toyota vehicles. In addition to personal injury and wrongful death claims, many lawsuits allege consumer issues based on the vehicles depreciated value.

In many cases involving car accidents that occur as the result of defective parts, more than one party may be at fault. In the accelerator defect cases, injured parties have asserted claims against both the manufacturer and various dealerships.

Although a settlement was reached with Toyota, the company has not publicly admitted fault. Further, the lawsuit will continue against Bob Baker Lexus, the dealership that installed an ill-fitting mat that may have contributed to the injury.

Despite the settlement of this case, thousands of lawsuits are pending in courthouses throughout the country. Further, questions still remain for Toyota such as when were they first aware of the potential for sudden acceleration and whether they acted quickly enough to warn of the unreasonably dangerous condition created by the defect.

Continue reading "Confidential Settlement Reached In San Diego Sudden Acceleration Case" »

Toyota Motor Corporation announced today that it will recall nearly 1.1 million Corolla and Matrix models to fix defective engine control modules. This is the latest in a string of recalls affecting Toyota. Many times, defective auto parts cause or contribute to serious car accidents.

The current recall seeks to correct a defect that could create cracks in the circuit board. In some instances the crack may cause the transmission to shift harshly, the engine may fail to start, and the engine may stop completely while the vehicle is being driven. Three accidents have been linked to the defect. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration ("NHTSA") has stepped up its investigation of the issue.

GM also issued a recall this week based on second row seat belt buckle problems that may make people accidentally believe they are buckled.

Hopefully these recalls were issued before any serious accident occurred. Often safety measures are implemented too late - after individuals are seriously injured by defects that could have been corrected.

Continue reading "Toyota Recalls 1.1 Million Cars To Prevent Serious Accidents" »

According to the Los Angeles Times, new documents have been filed in the Toyota sudden acceleration investigation showing Toyota Motor Corp. knew of accelerator defects as early as 2003. In fact, in at least one instance a Toyota technician experienced the sudden acceleration first hand - as the rpms increased from 1,500 to 5,500 and the technician was unable to stop the car by applying the breaks.

The new documents allege that Toyota was aware of the defects that caused the sudden acceleration but failed to either acknowledge or correct the problem until last fall when Congress and regulators forced them to address the defects.

Although the exact details and circumstances surrounding the Toyota accelerator defect case have yet to emerge, many issues raised in this case are similar to those in other products liability/dangerous defect matters, i.e. are manufacturers balancing the cost of fixing a problem with the cost of potential lawsuits? Are profits being placed ahead of safety?

Products liability lawsuits can be brought in almost any situation where a defective product injures a consumer - not only car accidents, but also defective sports equipment, unsafe toys and unreasonably dangerous drugs.

The type of damages the injured can recover depends in part on the type of claim - whether a design defect, a manufacturing defect, or a marketing defect/warning failure caused the injury impacts the type of damages allowed.

Damage calculations are also determined by the mindset of the manufacturer or distributor - where consumers are able to show a manufacturer was motivated by greed or knowingly allowed an unsafe product to stay on the market, punitive damages may be available.

Continue reading "Documents Show Toyota Motor Corp. Was Aware Of Accelerator Defects In 2003" »

Earlier this week, Toyota announced that it will recall 412,000 vehicles due to a steering problem that could lead to car accidents.

The recall affects Toyota Avalon sedans and Lexus LX 470 SUVs.

Toyota has been subject to many recalls this year, including the massive recall due to accelerator defects that lead to serious injuries and fatalities.

The current recall concerns the possibility of cracks developing in the steering lock bar. If this occurs, the lock bar could eventually break, causing the steering wheel the lock and increasing the risk of a crash.

Where defects produce accidents, many factors affect your right to recover compensation from the car manufacturer. These include whether the manufacturer knew or should have known of the defects, whether they provided adequate warnings of the potential for danger and whether the foreseeable risks of harm could have been reduced or eliminated by using a different design.

Continue reading "Toyota Recalls Thousands Of Vehicles Due To Defect That Could Lead To Car Accidents" »