Product Defect Liability Lawyer Blog

Toyota has announced that it will issue an auto product defect recall for 4 million of its popular car and truck models to repair problems with sudden acceleration in these vehicles. According to a news report in the San Diego Union-Tribune, the auto maker will start notifying vehicle owners about the nationwide recall, which involves recent model years of Camry Avalon, Prius, Tacoma, Tundra and three Lexus models. Toyota's troubles started in August when a San Diego County Sheriff's Department concluded that a fatal crash that killed CHP officer Mark Saylor and three members of his family was caused by a stuck accelerator pedal in the loaner Lexus Saylor was driving.

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Federal regulators have issued a auto product defect recall for 110,000 Toyota Tundras due to excessive erosion of the vehicle frame which can cause the spare tire mounted underneath the vehicle to fall out posing a roadway hazard for other motorists. According to a CNN news report, the recall was issued in 20 states and the District of Columbia. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has stated in its safety alert that road salts can lead to the corrosion in these pickup trucks. The corrosion can also cause serious brake defects by damaging the rear brake lines and causing the brake system to fail, federal officials say.

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Volvo will issue a vehicle defect recall for about 8,438 of its 2010 XC60 SUVs because of a problem that could cause the seatbelt to become detached from the seat frame during a side impact crash. According to a report in Left Lane News, the problem was discovered during crash testing. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which released a report on the problem, stated that the driver's seat side cover panel or seat control panel in certain driver-side collisions may cause the seatbelt to detach.

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The driver of a pickup truck was killed in a fiery Los Angeles car accident after his vehicle blew a tire and then crashed into a concrete wall on the 210 Freeway. According to a news report in the Los Angeles Times, the accident occurred the afternoon of November 22, 2009 on the westbound lanes of the freeway in La Canada Flintridge. California Highway Patrol officials said the impact from the collision sent debris flying into the eastbound lanes of the highway striking two vehicles and a motorcyclist, who was transported to an area hospital with moderate injuries.

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Lisel J. Wiedemann, 17, was killed and four others sustained critical injuries in a Riverside car accident the night of November 15, 2009. According to a news report in The Desert Sun. Lisel was the rear middle passenger in a 2008 Dodge Caliber and sustained a broken neck and head injuries, that were fatal. Joseph Nichol, 18, suffered collapsed lungs, a broken back and a brain injury. Raul Gonzalez, 18, sustained facial and back injuries. Lydia Lee Emer, 18, who was driving the crossover vehicle sustained injuries to her face and arm while a fourth passenger, an unidentified 17-year-old girl, sustained arm and head injuries. All injured victims were transported to an area hospital.

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Even as Toyota is grappling with auto products liability issues surrounding its recent recall of Toyota and Lexus sedans, the Los Angeles Times' review of federal records is showing that more than 1,000 Toyota and Lexus owners have reported incidents involving "sudden acceleration" since 2001. According to the in-depth, investigative report, these owners reported that their cars suddenly accelerated on their own, "in many cases slamming into trees, parked cars and brick walls, among other obstacles." These car accidents apparently resulted in at least 19 deaths and numerous injuries over the last 10 years.

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Two people were killed and 14 people sustained injuries in a Portland car accident after their 15-passenger van slid on black ice early morning November 12, 2009 on the Interstate 84 near Baker City, The Oregonian reports. The deceased were identified as Joshua John Pischura, 20, of Geneva, Ohio and Taune Nicole Winter Pepper, 23, of Deer Trail, Colorado. The 2002 Ford van was carrying members of a Colorado Church's Bible study group that was headed to Portland for a conference. The van was apparently marked with the logo of the New Life Worship Center at Federal Heights, Colorado, and was carrying teenagers and young adults who were enrolled at the church's Bible school.

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The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is asking Honda Motor Co. and Takata Corporation about why the auto maker delayed an important vehicle defect recall involving defective airbags. According to a news report, the federal agency is questioning Honda and Takata, who are Honda's airbag supplier, and asking for an explanation as to why the first recall did not include cars from the second recall. A total of 444,000 Accord and Civic sedans were recalled for potentially deadly airbag defects. The airbag inflator in these Honda vehicles can apparently rupture from too much internal air pressure sending metal fragments through the airbag and striking the occupants of the vehicle.

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Officials say a tire defect may have caused a San Diego car accident, which killed two people on the 15 Freeway the evening of November 9, 2009. According to a 10news report, the 2002 Chevy Trailblazer SUV driver by 40-year-old Ramon Arciniega was going north near Deer Springs Road in Escondido when the tread separated from the left rear tire causing Arciniega to lose control of the SUV. The Trailblazer crossed over onto the right shoulder and rolled down an embankment flipping several times before it came to rest on its roof. Arciniega and a passenger -- 52-year-old Evangelina Quiroz – were taken to an area hospital. Two other passengers – both said to be from Mexico – were fatally injured and pronounced dead at the scene. Their identities have not yet been released.

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General Motors has issued a vehicle defect recall involving about 53,000 Chevy, Pontiac and Saturn cars over a possible fire danger. According to a news report in The Orange County Register, the auto maker and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) have issued a recall after determining that a fuel leak can lead to a vehicle fire. The recalled models include 2006-2007 Chevy Cobalt; 2007 Pontiac G5; and 2006-2007 Saturn Ion.

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Chrysler is issuing a vehicle defect recall for many of its rear wheel drive Chrysler and Dodge models because they may have been built without a front wheel spindle nut. According to a news report in Consumeraffairs.com, this could basically lead to a tire-wheel separation when the vehicle is in motion leading to a serious car accident. The models affected by this recall include: Chrysler 300 2009-2010; Dodge Challenger 2009 and 2010 models; and Dodge Charger 2009-2010. When the recall begins, dealers will inspect the tire and wheel assembly and if necessary, repair the spindle nut installation at no charge to the consumer.

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At least two people have died and 26 people have become ill as a result of an E. coli food poisoning outbreak involving contaminated ground beef, the Associated Press reports. The complaints prompted a product recall involving 546,000 pounds of ground beef sold by Fairbank Farms in New York. The two reported deaths were in New York and New Hampshire, according to officials at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. The recalled beef products were reportedly packaged between September 15 and September 16 and may have been labeled with sell-by dates from September 19-28. The beef was sold under various labels at B.J's Wholesale, Trader Joe's, Price Shopper and other large retailers.

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After reports of numerous deaths and serious California personal injuries involving off-road recreational vehicles (also known as ROVs), the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has voted this week to write mandatory rules to regulate these types of vehicles. According to a CNBC news report, design defects in these four-wheel vehicles have led to more than 100 deaths since 2003. ROVs are vehicles that resemble a cross between a rugged-looking golf cart and a miniature Jeep and have a roll cage or metal bars framing the cab.

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A new federal report shows that auto product design defects may have played a part in a fatal San Diego car accident in August, which killed California Highway Patrol Officer Mark Saylor and three members of his family. According to a news report in the San Diego Union-Tribune, federal investigators found that the loaner Lexus, which Saylor was driving, had an unsecured and incorrect floor mat that jammed the accelerator. The design of the gas pedal may have also contributed to the fatal car accident, the report said.

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A federal agency has opened a new vehicle defect investigation into corrosion issues on 218,000 Toyota Tundra pickup trucks. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has apparently opened a preliminary probe into spare tires and brake lines on 2000 and 2001 model year Toyota Tundra pickup trucks. According to the Detroit News, the agency has so far received 20 reports about Tundra pickups where the spare tires separated and severe frame corrosion has led to brake failure. There have been 15 reports alleging that the "upper body mounted spare tire separated from the rear crossmember and five reports alleging broken brake lines at the proportioning valve that is located on the driver's side of the rear crossmember at upper shock mount."

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Matthew Jacob Wismann, 20, was killed in a Ventura car accident after his car crossed traffic lanes and crashed head-on into a van in Piru, California. According to a news report in the Ventura County Star, Wismann was driving west on Highway 126 near Center Street the evening of October 20, 2009 when he drifted into opposing lanes of the undivided freeway and struck a van driven by 53-year-old Adrian Powell of Valencia. California Highway Patrol officials said Wismann was taken to an area hospital where he died three hours after the crash. Powell was also treated for major injuries including a broken pelvis. Both men were wearing their seat belts.

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A 3-year-old girl was killed in a Los Angeles car accident after she was ejected from the vehicle she was riding the afternoon of October 17, 2009, according to a news report in The Signal. The fatal car accident occurred when the child's grandfather, Martin Borunda, 46, who driving his Chevy Astro van north on the 14 Freeway in Santa Clarita when one of the left tire's tread separated, California Highway Patrol officials said.

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Two adults and two children suffered serious burn injuries in an Orange County car accident, according to a news report in The Orange County Register. The injury accident occurred the morning of October 18, 2009 on the 5 Freeway in Irvine, California, and officials believe it was the result of some sort of malfunction involving the vehicle, possibly a defective tire at the rear. When emergency personnel arrived at the accident scene, the van was already on fire. The driver of the van was able to jump out uninjured, but two adults and two children – ages 3 and 6 – sustained a combination of first- and second-degree burns as they got out. All injured victims were transported to an area hospital. Officials are looking into what led to the vehicle malfunction and fire.

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Romulus Lee Glenn, 36, was killed in a San Bernardino car accident when the sedan he was riding in rolled over in the desert near Kramer Junction. According to a news report in the San Bernardino Sun, the driver of the Honda Accord was driving north on the Highway 395 when the vehicle rolled. Both Glenn and the driver were ejected from the Accord. A passing motorist noticed the crash and called authorities. Glenn was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver, who has not been identified, was airlifted to a local hospital with major injuries.

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Seilose Uele Kisepi, 47, was killed in a San Bernardino car accident after the car she was in crashed into the center divider on the 10 Freeway in Ontario. According to the San Bernardino Sun, Kisepi was in a 2009 Kia Rio the morning of October 14, 2009 when her husband who was driving the car lost control and hit the center median just east of Vineyard Avenue. The Rio was then broadsided by a Dodge pickup truck and a Buick. Kisepi was pulled out of the car and transported to an area hospital where she was pronounced dead.

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