Recently, Toyota agreed to set aside $1 billion that could be used to settle cases brought against them by plaintiffs alleging that they had incurred some financial hit due to their ownership of vehicles that may suffer from an unintended acceleration issue. However, what that does not settle is the matter of cases where the persons inside the vehicle sustained injuries or were killed because they lost control of the automobile.
We’re now seeing how some of those cases might play out. Last week, a case in which the families of victims whose Toyota Camry reportedly accelerated out of control and hit a wall was settled. The details were not provided, but this is the first of potentially hundreds of cases that will likely be settled or go all the way to trial.
Toyota and the plaintiffs opted for the settlement just prior to a trial that was set to begin in February. The very first wrongful death suit was brought against the company back in 2010, but after that, the cases were consolidated at the United States District Court level in Santa Ana.
The automaker stands by their throttle system, yet worries persist. 14 million automobiles have had to be recalled because of the fear that a gas pedal could become stuck or the floor mat could trap it against the floor.
Stay tuned for additional developments.