Seven insurance companies are suing Toyota Motor Corp. for hundreds of car accidents caused by glitches that lead to sudden acceleration.
American Automobile Insurance Co., Fireman’s Fund Insurance, National Surety Corp., Ameriprise Insurance, IDS Property Casualty Insurance, Motorists Mutual Insurance and American Hardware Mutual Insurance are relating Toyota’s manufacturing problems to 725 crashes caused by a defect resulting in uncontrolled acceleration to speeds of up to 100 mph or more. They say the automaker failed to “equip its cars with an override system that would cause a car to idle if the brake and gas were deployed simultaneously,” according to news reports .
Toyota, which says the lawsuits are meritless, said it “believes that any allegation that a vehicle-based defect is the cause of unintended acceleration in this or any other complaint is completely unfounded and has no basis.”
As a North Charleston car accident attorney, , I’m interested to see how this lawsuit will play out. Toyota recalled about 14 million vehicles worldwide since last November, including about 11 million in the United States. My condolences go out to all the victims of Toyota vehicle problems, as well as their friends and families affected by car accidents that occurred as a result of the safety recalls.