Victim who lived to tell her tale testifies in front of Congress:
Tales of tragic, even fatal, accidents in Toyota manufactured vehicles seem to be never-ending recently. In the wake of Toyota’s three recalls – now encompassing over 8 million vehicles – we are hearing of more and more accidents and deaths that may be attributed to the defective vehicles manufactured by Toyota. In lieu of all those horrendous accidents, Rhonda Smith may be one of the luckiest people on the planet. Her luck allowed to her live through a harrowing near death experience to be able to testify this week in front of the congressional lawmakers in Washington D.C regarding the Toyota recalls. Lawmakers held hearings to probe into the Toyota recalls in an attempt to discern when the automaker giant first learned about the defective parts and what they did when they learned about the problems. The Toyota recall sessions appear to have produced more questions than they answered.
Her story started back in October of 2006 as she was on her way to visit her 85 year old father in rural Tennessee. Shortly after Ms. Smith entered Highway 40, her Lexus began to act as though it was possessed she recalled. Her Lexus steadily climbed to 70, 80 and even 90 miles per hour while she frantically tried to apply the brake. She eventually pulled the emergency brake and even tried putting the vehicle in reverse – all to no avail. For reasons unknown, the vehicle then began to slow down on its own and yet another tragic accident – or death – was avoided. Why the Lexus slowed down is as much a mystery as why it sped up like it did. That is exactly the question that many vehicle owners, congressional leaders and watchdog groups are putting to Toyota at the moment. While Toyota has announced recalls for “floor mat entrapment” problems and “sticky pedal” problems, many people are questioning whether the problem is actually electrical in nature. Many people are also questioning whether the Toyota recalls cover all the affected vehicles. A simple check of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s site and one finds complaints about unintended acceleration in Toyota manufactured vehicles dating back to the 1990’s. It seems as if the announced Toyota recalls may not cover all the vehicles that warrant a recall.
It may be months, if not years, before all the questions regarding the Toyota recalls have been answered to everyone’s satisfaction. In the meantime, if you believe that you have been involved in an accident with one of the Toyota recalled vehicles, then you should seek the advice of a California product liability and personal injury lawyer as soon as possible. If a defect in one of the vehicles involved in your accident was fully or partially to blame for the accident, then you may be entitled to compensation from the manufacturer. If your vehicle is not currently listed on the Toyota recall list, but you believe that it may indeed suffer from the same product defect as the listed vehicles, then you may still wish to consult with a California product liability and personal injury attorney. The Toyota recalls may not be over and only time will tell how many vehicles are ultimately included. For further advice or questions, feel free to contact the law offices of Ledger & Associates online at www.ledgerlaw.com or toll-free at 1-800-300-0001.
