Most of us have heard the news announcements over the last six months regarding the three Toyota recalls. The first recall involved about 4 million vehicles for what has come to be known as the “accelerator entrapment” recall. The second, announced in January and involving about 2.3 million vehicles is for a problem internal to the pedal itself. Just this week, Toyota announced a third recall of about half a million vehicles for a problem with the ABS braking system. For many, the announced recalls came after many months, or years, of complaints and even accidents involving the vehicles that were ultimately recalled.
Take the case of Kevin Haggerty of Pittstown, New Jersey. Mr. Haggerty was the owner of a 2007 Toyota Avalon. He began having accelerator problems back in mid 2009. Although he took the vehicle to a dealer in November of 2009, they were unable to explain, much less fix, the sudden acceleration problem. Having no other option, Mr. Haggerty continued to drive his 2007 Avalon. Then, on December 28th of last year – BEFORE Toyota finally announced a recall that covered his vehicle – Mr. Haggerty had a harrowing experienced that could have ended tragically. Mr. Haggerty was heading eastbound on Interstate 78 on his way to work, when the vehicle started to accelerate on its own – reaching speeds of over 65 miles per hour in seconds. His foot was not on the gas pedal and the floor mats were not involved. This is a classic example of what became the reason for Toyota’s second recall. Luckily for Mr. Haggerty, he had recently watched a segment on ABC News about reported sudden acceleration problems and followed the advice given on that news segment. He put his foot on the brake and put the vehicle in neutral. He was only a short distance from a Toyota dealership and was able to drive the vehicle – in neutral – to the dealership for them to see first hand what was happening. The vehicle’s engine continued to race out of control the entire time he was driving it in neutral. Mr. Haggerty was lucky – and smart. He was able to control his vehicle despite the obviously dangerous defect in the accelerator pedal. Unfortunately, not everyone that owns one of these recalled vehicles has been that lucky or just happened to see that news segment. Almost one month to the day later, Toyota finally announced a recall that would have covered the accelerator problem with Mr. Haggerty’s Avalon.
If you believe that you have suffered injuries as a result of a recalled vehicle, contact an experienced California personal injury and product liability attorney as soon as possible. Only an experienced attorney can evaluate your situation and advise you how to proceed if you have a claim for the damages you have suffered.
If you have been hurt – physically, mentally or emotionally – as a result of an accident with a recalled vehicle and would like an experienced attorney to evaluate your case, contact the law offices of Ledger & Associates at 1-800-300-0001 or visit us at www.ledgerlaw.com.
