We blogged about
Toyota's gas pedal shortly after Toyota's January 21 recall announcement. As expected the numbers are pouring in. Recently, a NY woman claimed her
Prius unexpectedly accelerated down a Westchester driveway, crossed the road, and smashed into a stone wall, crushing in the front body of the car. The Catch: the car was fixed
already fixed by Toyota. The driver-side floor mat had been secured by both a hook and plastic cable. Police and company officials are all asking: What happened? Personal injury lawyer's analysis is that one of two things transpired. Either 1) The scope of the Toyota problem is larger than originally reported. This means more dangerous cars on the road, more injury, and further-tanking sales; or 2) The woman is falsely blaming Toyota for something beyond its responsibility. Such a bogus claim underscores the downside of announcing a full scale product recall. It invites mass numbers of bogus injury claims from people falsely blaming the company for creating dangerous conditions. Toyota will probably fight hard to establish the latter. The consequences of the first possibility go beyond compensating this particular injury victim for her damages. It could cost the company hundreds of millions if not more in lawsuits, additional recalls, brand-name damage and loss of public confidence. Toyota will presumably do its best to put the brakes on this one.
