Due to the problems that Toyota has been facing over the last six months, Toyota officials have been called to testify before two House panels this month, and the Senate may schedule one as well. Due to a snow storm headed for the nation’s Capital, Congress decided to postpone one hearing scheduled for today until later this month. Experts agree that Toyota has a lot to explain and much at stake during the upcoming hearings.
Toyota officials will be testifying in front of the House Oversight Committee at the February 24th hearing. Toyota’s President of North American Operations, Yoshimi Anaba, is expected to face questions regarding the problems with both the gas pedal that prompted the first two recalls as well as inquiries regarding the brake problems on the 2010 Prius and 2010 Lexus that prompted the latest recall. Toyota is expected to be required to produce records documenting consumer complaints in an effort to determine when Toyota became aware of the problems. Officials from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) are also expected to testify and answer questions regarding why they claim they did not have the resources to investigate complaints about the Toyota accelerator pads.
Toyota officials are also scheduled to testify at a hearing of the House Energy and Commerce Committee the following day – February 25th. One possible focus of that hearing will be accusations that Toyota has responded differently to media questions regarding their culpability than they responded to committee staff. More disturbing are questions about exactly when Toyota became aware of the accelerator complaints. It appears as though they may have known about complaints originating from the United Kingdom as early as last April or May.
While all of us appreciate the efforts being made by Congress to hold Toyota accountable for any negligence on its part, as we all know that process may be lengthy to say the least. For many consumers, they have already suffered damages as a result of Toyota’s negligence. Toyota stock has fallen leaving stockholders without much anticipated profits. The resale value of Toyota vehicles has gone down at least 3 percent according to the Kelly Blue Book and may drop even further. The number of accidents reported involving recalled vehicles continues to climb. Numerous injuries and even fatalities have been blamed on one or more of the recall issues. Worst of all – investigations appear to continue into other possible issues. As of this writing, certain years of the Toyota Camry and Corolla appear to have a problem with the power steering system and owners of earlier year Camrys are complaining that their vehicles have the same brake problem that the recalled 2010 has.
If you have suffered injuries as a result of an accident involving any of the numerous recalled vehicles, contact an experienced California personal injury and product liability attorney to discuss how you may be able to receive compensation for your injuries.
If you 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.
