Toyota is Not The Only Automaker that has Faced Safety Claims
March 15, 2010 (by Horatio Algren) According to past history Toyota is not the only automaker that has faced safety claims. One of the claims against another automaker occurred as long ago as 1911 when a Sarasota Springs New York driver, Donald MacPherson owned a Buick runabout and while driving had the wooden spokes on the rear wheel snap. It has recently been raised as a grounds for retrial on a vehicular manslaughter conviction.
This caused the early model vehicle to flip, and being an open car trapped MacPherson under the rear axle. The injuries he sustained were a serious laceration of the eye and a severe broken wrist. The broken wrist caused the injured man pain that prevented him from being able to grip the tools of his trade as a stone cutter.
MacPherson filed a suit against Buick Motor Corp. in which he alleged negligence for failing to make certain the wooden spokes and wheel were safe on the road. This case in the New York Court of Appeals brought MacPherson a compensation award of $5,025, which today would equal approximately $115,000. More importantly, this was a landmark ruling in product liability law, which established the duty of care laws that hold automakers responsible for the sale of safe products.
Today litigation is still the most major reason for making automakers provide safer vehicles according to industry experts. Autos have become much safer due to federal regulators, consumers and insurance companies with improvements like fuel tanks that do not explode when a vehicle is hit in the rear end, safer steering columns and impact absorbing dashboards.
According to University of Detroit law professor Logan Robinson and a former Chrysler International general counsel spoke of the litigation that occurred with the placement of the fuel tank in the Ford Pinto. These vehicles were an issue in the 1970’s as they were a smaller vehicle and in rear end collisions they could explode. Today most vehicles have a fuel tank designed to be safely hit at approximately 50 miles per hour.
During at least the last fifty years according to legal history experts in almost every litigation it led to marked safety improvements. This includes the watershed ruling of 1968 in the U.S. 8th Circuit Court of Appeals in Larsen vs. General Motors Corp. to hold the automaker liable for injuries sustained. This involved a collision in a Corvair where Larsen was injured upon hitting his head on the steering column.
This ruling in the Larsen case, that required automakers to improve design features that could cause injury even when it was not responsible for the cause of the accident changed decades of legal decisions.
Toyota Motor Corp is now facing an enormous amount of legal claims that stem from the sudden unintentional acceleration and brake system defects. The recalls that include approximately 10 million recall notices worldwide might not depend on class action attorneys to bring about safety changes, but could be ordered by federal regulators. We hope you have enjoyed this article by Ehline Law | Los Angeles personal injury attorney PC.If you have questions and need to speak to an attorney about the Toyota recall, contact 888.400.9721.
