Internal Documents Point to Toyota Placing Profits Over Safety

2/22/2010
Shapiro, Lewis & Appleton
Comments (0)

Internal Documents Point to Toyota Placing Profits Over Safety

recall, Toyota, car, wreck, injury, gas pedal, profits, floor mats, air bags, panels, attorney

An investigation by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee revealed Toyota, in July 2009, said it saved $100 million or more by negotiating an "equipment recall" of floor mats involving 55,000 Toyota Camry and Lexus ES350 vehicles in September 2007, according to the Huffington Post.

The documents regularly reference the financial benefits of delaying safety improvements and regulations. For example, Toyota said a phase-in to new safety regulations for side air bags saved the car company $124 million and 50,000 hours of labor. Delaying a rule for tougher door locks saved $11 million. These delays were described as "wins" for the car company.

Reading these types of documents is so frustrating. It shows a complete disregard for the safety of their customers while valuing profits above all else. What's so ironic is that Toyota will probably wind up spending much more than the supposed "cost-savings" they obtained from continually delaying new safety regulations and delaying fixing their gas pedal problem back in 2007 (when Transportation Department officials first alerted the company to the issue).

Here's a video discussing the internal Toyota documents...

Toyota already lost $7.7 billion last quarter, the largest loss in the company's history, according to autoblog.com. And the ramifications of Toyota's lackadaisical approach to safety could haunt the company for years. Their pristine image as one of the best auto manufacturers has been tainted, and if the House investigation continues to reveal internal documents like the ones mentioned above, Toyota's reputation could continue to suffer.

Should you feel bad for Toyota? Of course not; they brought this on themselves. If the company had acted sooner when Toyota drivers were getting into major car wrecks , suffering serious injuries or even getting killed due to gas pedal problems and other safety malfunctions, maybe the current situation would be better.

Category: Car Accident Lawyers & Motorcycle Accident Attorneys

Labels: Attorney Camry car Cooper ES350 floor mats gas pedal injuries Lexus recall Toyota Wreck

About the Editors: Shapiro, Lewis & Appleton is a Virginia (VA) injury law firm whose attorneys focus exclusively on personal injury and accident law. We have a proven track record in the court room, and you can review our case results to see for yourself. We have offices in Virginia Beach and Hampton, but we're ready to come to you anywhere in VA if you've been seriously hurt by the carelessness of another person or company.

Virginia injury lawyers Rick Shapiro and James Lewis have been recognized as among the Best Lawyers in America since 2008. Shapiro and Lewis have also been selected by the National Million Dollar Advocates Forum since 2009. Rick, Jim and Randy have been named Virginia Super Lawyers for Personal Injury Law (Jim since '06, Rick since '10, and Randy since '12). This is a prestigious recognition that only 5 percent of lawyers receive.

We were the first injury law firm in Virginia to join Primerus, a select group of highly ethical and respected law firms. Our Virginia Beach accident injury firm has the highest rating of AV from Martindale-Hubbell, a national lawyer ranking organization, which means we have a reputation for preeminent legal skill.

We also offer free special reports and edit the Virginia Beach Injuryboard and Norfolk Injuryboard blog sites as a public information service.

Our attorneys have deep roots in Virginia and handle cases throughout the commonwealth including Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Chesapeake, Portsmouth, Newport News, Hampton and Suffolk, VA.

While not every injury case meets our criteria, we offer free initial confidential consultations, so call us toll free at (800) 752-0042. If you cannot get through due to the high call volume, please leave a voicemail and we will get back to you shortly.

Virginia injury lawyer

There are no comments.

Search Our Site

Get help Now!

Practice Areas

Internal Documents Point to Toyota Placing Profits Over Safety

Post a comment