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According to a joint status report filed last week in California federal court, Toyota Motor Corp. has resolved more than half of nearly 250 individual unintended acceleration lawsuits that have been consolidated in multidistrict litigation (MDL) titled In re: Toyota Motor Corp. Unintended Acceleration Marketing, Sales Practices and Products Liability Litigation.
The joint status report was filed by attorneys for both the plaintiffs and the defendants and was meant to update the presiding judge on the success of the Intensive Settlement Process (ISP). “The ISP is continuing to make good progress as the parties attempt to resolve the various personal injury, wrongful death and/or property damage cases pending before this Court and in other Courts,” the joint status report says.
According to the joint status report, 109 of 168 cases pending in the MDL have been resolved and 36 out of 78 unintended acceleration lawsuits pending in coordinated state proceedings have been resolved. The participation rate is 91 percent, the parties say. Only 11 parties in the MDL and 11 in the coordinated state proceedings have not requested ISP.
This status update was filed less than a year after Toyota began to negotiate settlements with hundreds of plaintiffs who had filed personal injury, property damage and wrongful death claims that allegedly stemmed from the unintended acceleration defect.
Because each Toyota unintended acceleration lawsuit is being negotiated individually, the total value of the settlements will not be known until all of the cases have been resolved. The parties must first seek certification from the special master in the MDL after it is determined they complied with the requirements of the ISP.
The Toyota unintended acceleration class action lawsuit was originally filed in 2010 by plaintiffs who alleged their Toyota vehicles would accelerate without warning due to defects in the electronic throttle control systems. In 2009 and 2010, the auto maker recalled millions of vehicles that reportedly suffered from the unintended acceleration defect.
Toyota agreed to pay $1.1 billion to settle economic loss claims for Class Members who suffered depreciation due to the unintended acceleration defect. Despite some objections from Class Members, a federal judge gave final approval to the Toyota unintended acceleration settlement in July. However, this settlement only provided benefits for vehicle depreciation, not injury, property damage or wrongful death claims.
Under the terms of the Toyota economic loss class action settlement, the auto maker agreed to provide cash benefits to eligible Class Members as well as offer brake override installation for certain recalled vehicles.
The plaintiffs are represented by Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein LLP and Robinson Calcagnie Robinson Shapiro Davis Inc., among others.
The Toyota Unintended Acceleration Class Action Lawsuit is In re: Toyota Motor Corp. Unintended Acceleration Marketing, Sales Practices and Products Liability Litigation, Case No. 8:10-ml-02151, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, Southern Division.
UPDATE: On Nov. 15, 2017, nearly 500 lawsuits alleging defects caused death and injury from unintended acceleration in Toyota vehicles have been settled by the automotive giant.
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11 thoughts onToyota Reaches 145 Unintended Acceleration Injury Settlements
I had 2 sudden unintended acceleration accidents in 3 days: 7/4/2020 & 7/7/2020. Both occurred in parking lots and from dead stops. Brakes failed to work and colliding with another vehicle and concrete pole were the only things that stopped my 2012 scion iq. I reported these incidents to NHTSA and Scion safety hotline. No response from NHJTSA yet, but toyota hired an independent investigator to examine my car. I had my car towed to the nearest Toyota dealership for the evaluation to be performed yesterday. Now, I have to wait for Toyota to process the report and the findings. They will take up to 30 days, and there’s no assurances of any kind of relief. I don’t have any faith in Toyota to make things right, after considering all the testimonies from other toyota owners. What emergency assistance can consumers get for this dangerous defect?
I was traumatized by 2 SUA incidents that occurred 3 days apart. The first happened 7/4/2020, I put my 2012 scion iq into reverse. The car accelerated backwards despite me stomping and pumping the brakes. The only thing that stopped my car was another vehicle behind me. I was cited for an accident and I was bewildered as to what happened. On 7/7/2020 I was behind a car pulling out of a parking space. As the car cleared out of the space, I lightly pressed on the accelerator, and my car shot forward spontaneously. Once again, I stomped on the brakes and pumped them to no avail. My car collided into a concrete pole, which was the only reason my car came to a dead stop. I reported the incidents to NHTSA but no response. I called the scion safety hotline and reported it. They hired an independent investigator to come look at my vehicle yesterday. My car was requested to be towed to a nearby toyota dealership so it could be examined . Now, I have to wait up to 30 days for Toyota Corp. to respond. After all the testimonies I’ve read, I don’t have any faith in Toyota to make things right. I don’t want to repair my scion until NHTSA looks and records the damage.
I had a 2009 Toyota Camry and experienced the same thing; sudden acceleration while driving and my car hydrophaned and crossed the wrong side of the beltway. I hit an on-coming car with 3 passengers; one pregnant lady and we hit head-on. I supposedly had 8 airbags, none of them deployed and I was taken by ambulance to the hospital with a broken finger, cut lip, arm sprang, back/whiplash and neck was twisted, I was in total shock and paranoid for many months after. I notified Toyota and an Attorney, no one would assist me. I couldn’t believe I just had to walk away from something so serious and no one was held accountable. If something ever comes up whereas I can be assisted please let me know. Thank you.
I had 2 sudden unintended acceleration accidents in 3 days: 7/4/2020 & 7/7/2020. Both occurred in parking lots and from dead stops. Brakes failed to work and colliding with another vehicle and concrete pole were the only things that stopped my 2012 scion iq. I reported these incidents to NHTSA and Scion safety hotline. No response from NHJTSA yet, but toyota hired an independent investigator to examine my car. I had my car towed to the nearest Toyota dealership for the evaluation to be performed yesterday. Now, I have to wait for Toyota to process the report and the findings. They will take up to 30 days, and there’s no assurances of any kind of relief. I don’t have any faith in Toyota to make things right, after considering all the testimonies from other toyota owners. What emergency assistance can consumers get for this dangerous defect?
no se que hacer, mi camry 2009 acelero sin control, viajaba en autopista, resultado: mi esposa muere tragicamente, yo estoy gravemente lesionado del cerebro, alguien puede orientarme para reclamar por esto?? estoy muy confundido ya que perdi lo que mas queria en mi vida. gracias vivo en morelia mexico y mi cel es 4433635278
Both my Husband and cousin were killed(4-30-09) in a one-car Toyota Camry(09), received notice of UA in 12/09, no one would represent me… I filed it myself and Toyota was allowed to ditch my case arguing that I (wife) was not my husband’s representative. I have received nothing yet in an argument with 9th Circuit Appeals, Toyota stated that I was included in the Class action. Where’s the Justice!
until I just got this 29 dollar check I didn’t know about this. Now I understand what really happened when I totaled my Toyota by rearending a car. This is what happened.
Here is another confirmation that SUA is very real. I purchased a 2002 Mercedes CL-500 that had the Distronic Cruise Control option. That is the electronic technology that measures distance between the front of the “Distronic” vehicle and a vehicle in front of it as you travel down the highway. It regulates your speed automatically, decelerating so you don’t collide with any vehicle that gets in front of you; then accelerating back up to your pre-programmed speed when the road ahead is clear. It is normally left in the “ON” mode and engages when the cruise control is activated. My Distronic was faulty. Without warning the car would suddenly try to accelerate if I was stopped at a red traffic signal, stop sign, or waiting to make a left turn. I would push on the brake with maximum force (I’m 6’1″ and 197 lbs.) while the engine revs would climb to 2,000 then 2,500 all the way up and past 3,000 RPM’s. Fortunately, the brakes always held the car but there was that initial lurch of about five or ten feet that tested my reflexes. The local dealer could not isolate the cause and brought in Mercedes factory technicians to diagnose and analyze the problem. Ultimately, the manufacturer decided they wanted this vehicle off the road. They took it back and I got another CL-500 WITHOUT Distronic Cruise Control. Yes, auto manufacturers can deny it all they want to, but Sudden Unintended Acceleration is very real and present in just about any make of car. You just have to hope it’s not the one YOU are driving!
Since Toyota lost the case Bookout vs Toyota in Oklahoma, it rushed to settle cases of sudden unintended acceleration out of court. It is very obvious to me that the problem with Toyota/Lexus has not fixed. It is almost daily that I read about Toyota/Lexus flying into buildings, day cares, store fronts and in many case into other cars and all Toyota does blames the out of control accident on elderly, teens, medical issues, texting, or anything else they can come up with. I am a victim of Lexus sudden unintended acceleration which has changed my life in the past 10 years, 8 out 10 years have been involved in surgeries after surgeries.
Sudden Unintended Acceleration is real, it happened to me in 2005. I had purchased a brand new 2004 ES 330 Lexus while sitting at the red light my car took off like a rocket going through the red light. By the time I realized what was happening my car was going over 100 miles an hour and I realized that I did not have brake and I could hear the accelerator revving. All I was able to do hold on to the wheel trying to avoid hitting people . All I could think that my car was going to kill people. I was so fortunate that no one was kill and what eventually happened I end up on the other side of the street hitting a SUV head on totaling both cars. The dashboard fell on my legs and crushed both legs severely. The SUV driver had some minor damages. As the result of my Lexus suddenly accelerating, I have had 24 surgeries and more in future. My left leg will have to be amputated above the knee since surgery can not do any good anymore and my right ankle will have to be fused since I am in sever pain. I hope Toyota stops the lies and do something with its defective, out of control cars.
Azar Hadi Brannan
Toyota is #1 in cases of sudden unintended acceleration and FORD is #2. The current unintended acceleration plaguing newer vehicles is the electronically-induced type. The engine throttle control systems depend on computer software to command them. Sometimes glitches occur…like in some of your other electronic devices…which can cause the command to be different than what you desire. The evidence of the glitch is often undetectable after the vehicle is restarted. Unfortunately, the EDR (black box) is not always accurate as shown by expert Dr. Antony Anderson in his analysis of a 2012 Toyota Highlander. The EDR results indicated the driver was not braking when she was doing so. The EDR results are inconsistent.
The key to avoiding a horrific crash during a SUA event is whether or not the vehicle has an effective fail-safe in the event a glitch occurs. If it does not, as in the case of the glitch-prone Toyota ETCS-i, then the vehicle may become a runaway with an ineffective means to stop it. Unfortunately, the safety standards aren’t as strict in automobiles as they are in airplanes. Some manufacturers have more effective fail-safes than others. In the case of Toyota, an embedded software expert, Michael Barr (see Oklahoma Bookout vs. Toyota court case involving a 2005 Camry) found that an electronic glitch could induce a SUA event. Another expert, Dr. Henning Leidecker, found that a SUA event could also be triggered by “tin whisker” formation, particularly in 2002-2006 Toyota Camry vehicles.
SUA events have been DEADLY for vehicle occupants as well as pedestrians and people in storefronts, buildings, and even homes. The numbers of such crashes are ever-increasing with the advent of the very complex ELECTRONIC throttle control systems.
With the increase in such serious vehicle crashes, there is a concerted effort to show driver “pedal misapplication” or a “medical condition” or some other reason for the incident…anything other than a vehicle defect. Investigators aren’t scrutinizing the buggy electronic throttle control software or other conditions that can elicit a terrifying sudden unintended acceleration incident. They usually just examine the *mechanical* causes which tend to be just red herrings in these cases. Investigators simply don’t have the expertise to find such electronic glitches. In fact, the staff at the NHTSA, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, do not have this very specialized training!
Think of it…the next step in electronically-controlled vehicles seems to be so-called “self-driving cars.” Do YOU want to be in a such a vehicle when there is no evidence that strict safety standards, particularly in the throttle control system’s software, have been adhered to? Will you just BLINDLY trust the automaker (criminally-investigated and nearly-prosecuted Toyota and soon-to-be GM and others?) to come through for you and your family’s safety *on its own*?
A recently published Huffington Post article by Jonathan Handel,
How Do We Know Driverless Cars Are Safe? Google Says ‘Trust Us’
Posted: 07/01/2014 7:23 pm EDT Updated: 07/02/2014 1:48 pm EDT speaks to these very issues and poses tough questions about Google’s “driverless” vehicles. Educate yourself carefully before you put your faith in automakers who have knowingly lied to their customers and the government for decades. Study the issue of vehicle electronic sudden unintended acceleration and ask WHY we aren’t seeing it addressed publicly. WHY is blame placed on the driver with little more than speculation about which pedal was used or with little more than an assumption on medical condition. This is being done *even when the drivers steadfastly cite a VEHICLE PROBLEM as the cause of the crash. Absence of proof is not proof of absence of a serious ELECTRONIC computer glitch or other electronically-caused SUA.
Coverup King and admitted-crook Toyota has been runnin’ scared ever since it lost that landmark unintended acceleration case in Oklahoma last October, and is now being allowed to ignore compelling evidence of electronic defects presented at that trial. I’ve been blogging about the “Toyota Way” for quite some time – search “Beware of Toyota. Their next victim may be YOU…”