Regulators Bring In NASA Scientists For Toyota Probe

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Posted on 31st March 2010 by Gordon Johnson in Uncategorized

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Pulling out all the stops in their probe, auto-safety regulators will literally turn to help from rocket scientists to study what’s caused the sudden, and deadly, acceleration of Toyota cars. http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100330/bs_nm/us_toyota;_ylt=Avj2ZyGXDibrcZycWm8RhC9h24cA;_ylu=X3oDMTJ1ajNmY2JtBGFzc2V0A25tLzIwMTAwMzMwL3VzX3RveW90YQRjY29kZQNtb3N0cG9wdWxhcgRjcG9zAzcEcG9zAzcEc2VjA3luX3RvcF9zdG9yaWVzBHNsawNnb3Z0YXNraW5nbmE

NASA space and aeronautics engineers are being called in to help examine Touota’s electronic throttles, to find out if they are the cause of the sudden auto accelerations.

“We are determined to get to the bottom of unintended acceleration,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told Reuters.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, NHTSA, part of the Transportation Department, is doing an investigation into Toyota’s throttles. As part of that probe, nine NASA scientists who are experts in electronics, electromagnetic interference, software and difficult problem solving will be lending a hand.

The NHTSA investigation is slated to be done by the summer, and then it will be decided whether to go forward with a formal probe.

In Japan Tuesday, Toyota president Akio Toyoda convened a committee with 50 members that will study safety problems.

Attorney Gordon Johnson
Chair Traumatic Brain Injury Litigation Group, American Association of Justice
g@gordonjohnson.com :: 800-992-9447 :: Attorney Gordon S. Johnson, Jr.

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The Mechanics and Legal Logistics of the Toyota Lawsuits

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Posted on 26th March 2010 by Gordon Johnson in Uncategorized

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The litigation stemming from Toyota’s sudden-acceleration debacle continues to move forward, with the auto maker arguing Thursday that the 200 lawsuits stemming from the problem should be consolidated. http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5imJf-xAYjZsiJx5KJN87X2aebzZQD9ELQ9N81

Toyota’s head attorney, Carl Dawson of Georgia, plead the car manufacturer’s case for having the personal injury and wrongful death suits, as well as any potential class action suits, merged.

“All these cases have common issues,” Dawson said. “There will be significant overlap.”

Dawson also argued that the suits should be handled in a California court, since Toyota’s U.S. headquarters is in Los Angeles. He argued his points before the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation in San Diego.

The hearing was a circus of lawyers, as The Wall Street Journal reported Friday. Two dozen attorneys had only two minutes each to make statement to the judicial panel, arguing that the cases be handled in venues such as Louisiana, for example. The Journal compared the proceedings to speed-dating. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704094104575143690736388422.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_LEFTWhatsNewsCollection “At stake are huge fees that the only a few lawyers will collect in the suits against Toyota…Lawyers based where the lawsuits are heard will have a good shot at taking the lead position in the cases,” The Journal wrote.

There have been 140 suits filed in federal courts against Toyota, and many more are pending in state courts.

Friday The Los Angeles Times offered an updated tally of the number of deaths now blamed on the acceleration of Toyota vehicles. It is more than 100, according to The Times, twice the number reported two months ago. http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-toyota-deaths26-2010mar26,0,5790258.story

Attorney Gordon Johnson
Chair Traumatic Brain Injury Litigation Group, American Association of Justice
g@gordonjohnson.com :: 800-992-9447 :: Attorney Gordon S. Johnson, Jr.

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Lawyers Role in Toyota Lawsuits

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Posted on 16th March 2010 by Gordon Johnson in Uncategorized

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With the Toyota acceleration debacle in the headline every day, the new twist on the story is writing about auto-safety litigation and the role attorneys are playing in the suits that have been filed against the Japanese auto maker.

On Monday The Wall Street Journal did a piece headlined “Lawyers Vie For Lead Roles In Toyota Lawsuits” http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703457104575121571198599134.html?KEYWORDS=toyota+lawsuits as well as a blog on the topic. http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2010/03/15/pick-me-toyota-plaintiffs-lawyers-to-plead-their-cases-in-san-diego/tab/print/

There are so many cases pending against Toyota, with more to be filed, that The Journal suggested that it’s likely that many of the claims in the cases will be consolidated.

There will be a hearing held March 25 by the U.S. Judicial Panel for Multidistrict Litigation, which will be responsible for consolidating cases, in San Diego federal court.

Arsenault is conducting a “Toyota Symposium” right before the Judicial Panel hearing. One of the panels will be on “Liability Issues: The Mechanical vs. Electronic Debate.”

Over the weekend there was more news about Toyota litigation, as the Orange County District Attorney’s Office filed suit against the auto maker. The suit charges that Toyota knowingly sold thousands of hundreds of thousands of cars with acceleration problems, http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-oc-toyota13-2010mar13,0,4331092.story

The Los Angeles Times also wrote a fascinating history of auto-safety litigation, which credits lawsuits with leading to life-saving innovations to cars over the past 50 years. Those improvements include gas tanks that’s won’t explode if a car is hit in the rear, and dashboards and steering columns that absorb a body’s impact. http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-toyota-litigate14-2010mar14,0,2005316.story

Attorney Gordon Johnson
Chair Traumatic Brain Injury Litigation Group, American Association of Justice
g@gordonjohnson.com :: 800-992-9447 :: Attorney Gordon S. Johnson, Jr.

http://subtlebraininjury.com :: http://brainanatomyguide.com :: http://car-accident-rain.com :: http://tbilaw.com
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Toyota Now Faces Problems With Priuses

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Posted on 11th March 2010 by Gordon Johnson in Uncategorized

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Toyota’s woes never seem to end, with two incidents involving Priuses suddenly accelerating making national headlines Wednesday.

In one instance, a man in California was able to get help from a California Highway Patrolman when his 2008 Prius sped up to 90 mph as he was driving on a highway in San Diego. The police officer coached the man, who then was able to stop the vehicle. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704784904575111503873150166.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_sections_business And in a second incident, a 2005 Prius crashed into a stone wall in Harrison. N.Y. In that car, the floor mat had been tied to the seat, most likely by the dealer, so the mat can be blamed for the accident. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/10/business/10toyota.html?ref=business

Toyota has already done massive recalls of its Camry and Lexus lines, after vehicles suddenly accelerated, allegedly causing accidents that killed at least 50 people.

The automaker has also recalled its 2004 to 2009 Priuses, but that was just to deal with the issue of floor mats making the accelerator stick.

Did no one at Toyoto think to check their other models?

Attorney Gordon Johnson
Chair Traumatic Brain Injury Litigation Group, American Association of Justice
g@gordonjohnson.com :: 800-992-9447 :: Attorney Gordon S. Johnson, Jr.

http://subtlebraininjury.com :: http://brainanatomyguide.com :: http://car-accident-rain.com :: http://tbilaw.com
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Worse-Case Scenario Suit Filed Against Toyota Over Sudden Accelerations

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Posted on 6th March 2010 by Gordon Johnson in Uncategorized

Toyota is already being sued over accidents caused by the sudden-acceleration of its cars, with some of those lawsuits seeking class action status. But there is one suit that the automaker will likely have a particularly tough time defending itself against, according to The Wall Street Journal.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703862704575099861335382140.html?mod=WSJ-auto-IndustryCollection#articleTabs_article

That product liability and negligence suit stems from the case of an off-duty California Highway Patrol officer who was killed in an accident, along with his family, in San Diego when the Lexus he was driving suddenly sped out of control, accelerating to 120 miles an hour.

But this accident is different than the others in several important ways. First, the Lexus being driven by the off-duty officer, Mark Saylor, was a loaner car from a dealership. Secondly, the customer who had used the loaner car before Sawyer had told the dealership that its accelerator had gotten stuck.

According to The Journal, Saylor’s fatal crash was a particularly disturbing one. After accelerating, the Lexus hit a Ford Explorer, crashed through a fence, flipped over and then exploded in flames. Sawyer and his three passengers were killed.

The Journal points out that in some of the other litigation pending against Toyota over the acceleration issue, there are mitigating factors that could get the car maker off the hook. One driver had epilepsy, and Toyota argued a seizure could have caused his crash. Another driver was old and had parked near a cliff. A third had a stroke.

Saylor’s survivors filed their lawsuit this month in Superior Court in San Diego.

So far federal officials say that there have been 52 deaths linked to the acceleration of their Toyotas. Some experts suggested that each suit filed from the case could result in Toyota having to pay millions of dollars in damages.

Toyota has recalled more than 8 million cars so far.

 

Attorney Gordon Johnson Chair Traumatic Brain Injury Litigation Group, American Association of Justice

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Attorney Gordon Johnson
Chair Traumatic Brain Injury Litigation Group, American Association of Justice
g@gordonjohnson.com :: 800-992-9447 :: Attorney Gordon S. Johnson, Jr.

http://subtlebraininjury.com :: http://brainanatomyguide.com :: http://car-accident-rain.com :: http://tbilaw.com
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Toyota’s Acceleration Problems Could Have Lead to Man’s Manslaughter Conviction, He Seeks Exam Of His Camry

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Posted on 4th March 2010 by Gordon Johnson in Uncategorized

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We’ve all heard of cases when an innocent man is freed from prison after someone steps forward, or new evidence appears, to clear the convicted one of his crime. A similar case has surfaced, but in this one an imprisoned man claims he should be released in light of Toyota’s admitted problem with the sudden acceleration of its some of its vehicles.

On the surface, it looks like the Toyota acceleration screw-up not only killed people, but also put a guiltless man in jail.

Koua Fong Lee is serving an eight-year term for a manslaughter conviction stemming from an accident that killed three people. Lee was driving a 1998 Toyota Camry, one of the vehicles recalled by the automaker, when the crash happened.

http://www.aolnews.com/nation/article/koua-fong-lee-claims-faulty-toyota-brakes-caused-deadly-accident/19380139?icid=main|main|dl1|link1|http%3A%2F%2Fwww.aolnews.com%2Fnation%2Farticle%2Fkoua-fong-lee-claims-faulty-toyota-brakes-caused-deadly-accident%2F19380139

Lee was 29 when the accident took place in June 2006. He was driving home from church in St. Paul, Minn., with his pregnant wife, daughter, father, brother and niece in his car.

Lee had maintained that his Camry suddenly accelerated. Obviously, a jury didn’t believe him. He crashed into several cars ahead of him, killing Javis Adams and his 10-year-old son, Javis Adams Jr. Another child, 6-year-old Devyn Bolton, also died.

During the trial, the prosecution maintained that Lee, a Laotian immigrant, has his foot on the gas when his car crashed. Two inspections done by mechanical engineers maintained that the car’s brakes were working when the crash took place.

Lee’s legal counsel plans to ask court approval to have his Camry from the accident, which is still in police custody, examined by experts who are familiar with the car’s acceleration problems

Attorney Gordon Johnson
Chair Traumatic Brain Injury Litigation Group, American Association of Justice
g@gordonjohnson.com :: 800-992-9447 :: Attorney Gordon S. Johnson, Jr.

http://subtlebraininjury.com :: http://brainanatomyguide.com :: http://car-accident-rain.com :: http://tbilaw.com
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All’s Well Is Not Ending Well With Toyota Repairs

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Posted on 3rd March 2010 by Gordon Johnson in Uncategorized

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Toyota is far from off the hook for its deadly accelerator problems, which has resulted in accidents that have killed dozens of people. Now, federal officials are weighing whether to make all trucks and cars made in the U.S. have brakes that can override gas pedals. http://content.usatoday.com/communities/driveon/post/2010/03/feds-weigh-requiring-brake-devices-on-cars-to-prevent-runaway-acceleration/1

That’s what Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said to Congress on Tuesday.

Right now Washington officials are pinning 52 deaths on Toyota vehicles that suddenly accelerated and crashed. The auto makers has issued 10 million recall notices.

But that’s not what’s most scary now. There are reports that Toyota’s vehicle recall and repairs may not be working. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has received at least seven complaints from people who claim their Toyotas have still suddenly accelerated after having their gas pedals fixed and floor mats replaced by dealerships.

Attorney Gordon Johnson
Chair Traumatic Brain Injury Litigation Group, American Association of Justice
g@gordonjohnson.com :: 800-992-9447 :: Attorney Gordon S. Johnson, Jr.

http://subtlebraininjury.com :: http://brainanatomyguide.com :: http://car-accident-rain.com :: http://tbilaw.com
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The Toyota Debacle, With The Los Angeles Times Counting At Least 56 Dead from Sudden-Acceleration Accidents

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Posted on 1st March 2010 by Gordon Johnson in Uncategorized

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The story of Toyota’s deadly failure to remedy the acceleration problems with its cars had endless twists last week, when Congress held hearings on the matter.

This week, the media is offering up an analysis of what Toyota did and didn’t do, with U.S. lawmakers accusing the automaker of withholding information and other drama. For example, Time magazine did a lively review of the hearings.
http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,1968086,00.html#

It’s hard to keep track of it all.

But what often gets neglected in the headlines about the Washington hearings and the official apologies by Toyota management is that people, a lot of people, died terrifying deaths because of these faulty brakes.

But these week, we got some of the heart-breaking stories of those who died when their cars accelerated, speeding out of their control.

First, the Los Angeles Times did lot of legwork and found that at least 56 people have died in accidents related to the sudden acceleration of their Toyota vehicles.
http://articles.latimes.com/2010/feb/28/business/la-fi-toyota-deaths-mainbar28-2010feb28

That piece offers an overview of some of the circumstances and details of these crashes, which may have been avoided if Toyota had acted sooner. The common theme seems to be the terror and helplessness the victims felt before their cars sped out of control and they were killed.

The second story offers a capsule account of each of the 56 deaths, with the person’s name, date of their fatal accident and the circumstances.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/la-fiw-toyota-deaths-list28-2010feb28,0,3224161,print.story

It humanizes these people. It reminds us of when The New York Times wrote profiles of each victim of the 9/11 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in New York City. It put a face on those innocents.

The National Highway Safety Board has actually bought the Lexus ES 350 that was owned by hearing witnesses Rhonda and Eddie Smith of Tennessee. They described how their Lexus accelerated on a highway for six long minutes until Rhonda got control of the vehicle again.
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/driveon/post/2010/02/feds-to-study-lexus-that-almost-killed-tenneessee-woman/1

Attorney Gordon Johnson
Chair Traumatic Brain Injury Litigation Group, American Association of Justice
g@gordonjohnson.com :: 800-992-9447 :: Attorney Gordon S. Johnson, Jr.

http://subtlebraininjury.com :: http://brainanatomyguide.com :: http://car-accident-rain.com :: http://tbilaw.com
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