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Blog Category:

Car & Motorcycle Accident Attorneys

3/10/2010
Shapiro, Lewis & Appleton
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Toyota Recalls Prompt New Looks Into Fatal Car Accidents

After a Minnesota man driving a 1996 Toyota Camry crashed into and killed a driver and two passengers in another car in 2006, the man was sentenced to eight years in prison for vehicular homicide. The man has maintained since the day of the accident that his car unexpectedly sped up as he travelled up an interstate onramp and that applying his brakes did not work to slow down his Camry.

When a Michigan woman driving a 2005 Camry slammed into a tree and died in 2008, crash investigators determined the single-car accident was due to driver error. The woman's family insists that she "vigorously applied her brakes" but could not slow her car down after it suddenly accelerated from 25 mph to 80 mph.

A list of 41 incidents in which people were injured and killed following the sudden and uncontrollable acceleration of Toyota vehicles including Avalons, Corollas, Highlanders, Priuses and Tacomas appears in the online version of the Los Angeles Times. I have singled out the wrecks in Michigan and Minnesota because the recent recalls of more than 8.5 million Toyota and Toyota subsidiary Lexus cars, SUVs and pickup trucks have reopened the investigations into the actual causes of those fatal accidents.

Neither the 1995 nor 2005 Camrys were recalled for the floor mat or mechanical accelerator problems Toyota officials have identified as causes of sudden acceleration in their vehicles. However, if investigators do find defects in those Camrys, the Minnesota man could receive a new trial and the families of the people who lost their lives could have grounds to file wrongful death suits against Toyota. A Michigan court has already ordered company representatives to appear and explain how a problem with the car itself could not have been the reason for the crash that killed the woman.

According to the Associated Press, Toyota is facing at least 89 class action lawsuits related to its admission that some of its cars, SUVs and pickup trucks could run out of control and lead to deaths and injuries. How any of these suits will turn out remains to be seen. What is undeniable, though, is that people harmed by poorly designed, poorly constructed and potentially defective products have the right to seek compensation for any pain or suffering they suffered as a result from those products. If courts and juries find that Toyota acted irresponsibly in selling defective products or acting too slowly to fix known problems with its vehicles, each victim of sudden acceleration in Toyotas and Lexuses deserves justice.

EJL

Labels: acceleration accident Attorney Camry car Crash defective products gas injury John C. loss of life pedal recall sudden SUV Toyota truck Wreck wrongful death


How can you identify a top Virginia injury lawyer for your case? Look no further.

Our VA personal injury lawyers have been selected for many accolades.

Two of the attorneys with our Virginia Beach accident injury law firm, James Lewis and Rick Shapiro, have been named the Best Lawyers in America since 2008. Two of our VA injury lawyers -- Lewis and Shapiro - have been named to Virginia Super Lawyers for Personal Injury since 2010. In addition, Lewis and Shapiro have been selected for inclusion in the National Million Dollar Advocates Forum since 2009. 

Our VA accident injury law firm was the first in the commonwealth nvited to join Primerus, a select group of highly ethical and respected law firms. Rick Shapiro was named as one of the Top 100 Injury Lawyers in Virginia by the National Trial Lawyers Association.


In October, 2000 our law firm and co-counsel obtained what was then the largest verdict in Virginia's history for an injured person. Our brain damaged client received an initial award of $46 million that rose to $60 million with interest when the defendant abandoned an appeal and agreed to settle. 


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Our personal injury lawyers handle personal injury cases throughout the eastern USA, and work closely with lawyers in other states on signficant injury cases.

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In West Virginia, we can handle personal injury claims in Bluefield, Beckley, Bridgeport, Charles Town, Charleston, Fairmont, Huntington, Lewisburg, Madison, Martinsburg, Morgantown, Moundsville, Parkersburg, Ripley, Sutton, Weirton, Wheeling and any other town or county.

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Virginia (VA) Personal Injury Lawyers
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