Record $16 million fine proposed against Toyota over slow product recalls
The Chicago product liability attorneys at Levin & Perconti have blogged often about the Toyota vehicle recalls. In the latest happening reported by the Chicago Tribune, the federal government has accused Toyota of hiding a dangerous product defect and proposed a record $16.4 million fine on Monday for failing to quickly alert regulators to safety problems in gas medals on popular models. The product liability fine, announced by the Transportation Secretary, is the most that the government could levy for the sticking gas pedals that led Toyota to issue a product recall of millions of vehicles. Additionally, the Japanese automaker faces private product liability lawsuits seeking many millions more in damages.
The automaker Toyota has issued product recalls of more than 6 million vehicles in the United States and more than 8 million vehicles worldwide because of acceleration problems in multiple models and braking issues in the Toyota Prius hybrid. Documents recovered from the automaker demonstrated that the automaker knew of the product liability problem with the sticking gas pedals in late September, but did not issue a product recall until late January. The sticking pedals involved 2.3 million vehicles.
The product liability mess surrounding the Toyota product recall has reinforced the need for trial lawyers. The government cannot oversee everything that manufacturers do; everyday consumers depend on trial lawyers to bring their injuries due to product defects to the attention of the government and the manufacturers through the civil justice system. The point is made clear by the Toyota case – one review of federal records found as many as 2600 consumer product complaints of sudden acceleration over a 10 year period.
For more information on the record product liability fine.
