Product Liability Law Blog

According to The Detroit News, manufacturers called back over 19 million vehicles in 600 recall campaigns in 2010—the busiest year for post-production fixes since 2004 when 600 campaigns recalled 30.8 million autos. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which will release its final numbers for the year next month, reported that as of October 25 it had recorded 417 recalls affecting 14.8 million autos. Both the NHTSA and the News placed Toyota at the top of their list of manufacturers with the most recalls. NHTSA's preliminary list reported Toyota having 14 recall campaigns affecting approximately 5.9 million autos, while the News reported nine campaigns involving 4.8 million cars.

The urgency for autos with defects to be recalled immediately kicked into gear in August 2009 when a Toyota sudden acceleration accident involving a Lexus vehicle killed off-duty California Highway Patrol officer Mark Saylor, his wife, daughter, and brother-in-law. The vehicle they were in accelerated out of control when the gas pedal got stuck in the floor mat.

Second on the News' list was General Motors with 21 recall campaigns affecting about 4 million vehicles. Just recently, GM's Cadillac division recalled about 95,927 CTS sports sedans over a problem with its sensing system that could impact airbag deployment. '05, '06, and '07 models are affected. The automaker also recalled over 97,000 Chevrolet Equinoxes, Cadillac SRX's, and GMC Terrain autos, all '11 models, because the safety buckle anchor on the driver and frontal passenger seats may break during a traffic crash. In a smaller recall, GM recalled 1,262 SUV's and trucks, also '11 models, because the vehicles' rear axle cross pins were not made correctly. Vehicles impacted include the Chevrolet Silverado 1500, the Cadillac Escalade, GMC Sierra 1500, and Chevrolet Avalanche 1500.

Auto manufacturers are now under closer scrutiny and must report auto defects within five days of discovering. Our auto products liability law firm hopes that the push to immediately repair safety issues will save lives and prevent serious injuries.

2010 Likely Busiest Year for Auto Recalls in Seven Years, Daily Finance, December 29, 2010

Cadillac Recall: More Safety Gear Can Mean More Recalls, The Wall Street Journal, December 29, 2010

Auto recalls spike in 2010, The Detroit News, December 29, 2010

GM Recall: Cadillac SRX, Chevrolet Equinox And GMC Terrain Models Affected, Star Global Tribune, December 28, 2010

GM recalls 2011 Cadillac, Chevrolet and GMC trucks over axle risks, Torque News, December 28, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Get recall alert notices, Safercar.gov

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

Auto Recalls, Product Liability Law Blog

Continue reading "More than 19 Million Autos Recalled in 2010 in About 600 Campaigns" »

The US Department of Transportation says that Toyota Motor Corporation has consented to pay another $32.425 million in civil penalties—$16.050 million for one case and $16.375 for another—over its handling of auto recalls. The government contends that the automaker did not comply with the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act regarding the reporting of auto safety defects to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

One investigation involved almost five million autos that were recalled because of accelerators could get entrapped in floor mats. This auto defect, which resulted in the recall of at least 4.9 million Lexus and Toyota autos, is one of the two known causes for the sudden intended acceleration that some people have experienced while riding in a Toyota or Lexus vehicle. The other cause, "sticking" accelerator pedals, resulted in an earlier agreement between the NHTSA and Toyota with the automaker paying another $16.375 million fine. In both cases, NHTSA believes that Toyota did not obey the law, which required that it report a known safety defect within five days.

People claiming to be the victims of Toyota sudden unintended acceleration have filed numerous auto products liability and wrongful death lawsuits against the automaker. If you believe that your injuries or your loved one's death was caused by an auto defect, it is important that you explore your legal options.

The other latest investigation, which has resulted in a $16.050 million fine, involves a steering relay rod defect that led to the 2004 recall of a number of Toyota trucks in Japan. The concern was that the steering relay rods might break and crack, which could cause the loss of steering control. Although Toyota told NHTSA that a similar recall in the US was unnecessary, in 2005, the automaker recalled almost one million vehicles over the same issue.

The three fines add up to $48.8 million that Toyota has had to pay the US government in civil penalties this year for its handling of recalls involving major safety issues that have placed people's lives at risk. Automakers must be held liable for negligence when their carelessness, negligence, or disregard of others safety causes serious personal injuries or wrongful death.

Toyota Motor Corp. Will Pay $32.425 Million in Civil Penalties as Result of Two Department of Transportation Investigations, NHTSA, December 20, 2010

Toyota to pay $32.4 million in extra fines, AP/Google, December 21, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Toyota Safety Issues, Product Liability Law Blog

Toyota Motor Corporation

US Department of Transportation

Continue reading "Toyota Motor Corp. to Pay $32.425M Penalties Over Auto Recalls" »

In a unanimous vote, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has approved new mandatory crib standards that ban the manufacture and sale of drop-side cribs, strengthen mattress support, demand stronger crib hardware, and make safety tests tougher. Cribs made, sold, or rented in the US have to comply with these standards by June 2011. Hotels, motels, child care facilities, family child care homes, and other places of public accommodations have 24 months after the rule is published to be in compliance. This marks the first time in almost three decades that the crib safety standards have been updated

Since 2007, the CPSC has recalled over 11 million dangerous cribs. More than 9 million drop-side cribs have been recalled since 2005. At least 32 infant strangulation and suffocation deaths involving drop-side cribs have occurred in this last decade.

As our child injury lawyers have reported in past blog posts, many crib injuries have taken place. Fall accidents, entrapment, strangulation, and suffocation are among the more common kinds of crib accidents. Per USA Today in August, its analysis of CPSC information found that before 14 crib companies recalled their cribs, they received over 900 incident reports complaining of crib injuries and deaths, as well as of cribs falling apart.

Faulty or defective hardware, too big of a gap that can get created between the crib's drop-side and the mattress, and drop-side malfunction are just some of the defects that have contributed to the child injuries and deaths. The CPSC is hoping that the tougher safety standards will reduce the dangers found in cribs and save lives while making it easier for children and parents to sleep through the night.

CPSC Approves Strong New Crib Safety Standards To Ensure a Safe Sleep for Babies and Toddlers, CPSC, December 17, 2010

CPSC's ban on drop-side cribs takes effect in June, USA Today, December 17, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (PDF)

Crib safety tips, Consumer Reports

Continue reading "CPSC Bans Drop-Side Cribs and Approves New Crib Safety Standards" »

Ford Motor Co. is expanding its recall of 575,000 Windstar vehicles to include another 37,000 minivans. According to the Associated Press, the expansion of the recall comes after the family of Sean Bowman complained that the automaker didn't do enough warn about the initial recall, which involved older Windstars and concerns that the vans' rear axles might corrode and break.

Bowman, 28 was killed in a single-vehicle crash last October when he lost control of his 2001 Ford WIndstar and rammed into the side of a building. Critically injured in the accident was his girlfriend. Bowman leaves behind two young daughters, ages 4 and 7. His family says that they did not receive a safety recall notice from Ford until one week after the tragic traffic collision and more than six weeks after the recall was announced in August. They are considering filing a Massachusetts auto products liability lawsuit against Ford over his wrongful death.

Federal law requires car manufacturers let vehicle owners know about a recall "within a reasonable amount of time." Usually, owners are notified about a recall within 30 days.

While the original recall affected 1998 to 2003 model Windstars in certain US states and Canada, where heavy road salt can cause rust to appear on the axles and crack-related corrosions to cause axle breakage, the expanded recall adds 2003 Windstars that come with heat-treated axles, as well as vans in Utah where road salt is used. Ford says that its latest figures show that as of September, there have been at least seven accidents linked to the axle defect that have resulted in injuries—although the automaker says that none of the injuries are serious. It has received some 950 complaints about the axles.

Ford says that it has been looking through state motor vehicle registration databases to search for WIndstar owners affected by the recall. Notifications of the expanded recall started to go out last week.

Minivan recall grows as victim's family speaks out, Forbes, December 15, 2010

Minivan Recall Grows As Victim's Family Speaks Out, NPR/AP, December 15, 2010

Whitman, Mass. police investigate deadly car crash into building, NECN, October 15, 2010

Related Web Resource:
Ford Motor Company

Volvo has announced two recalls affecting over 13,000 vehicles. One recall, which involves 7,420 autos, involves the power-operated front passenger seat, which can extend farther than it should. The NHTSA says that allowing a passenger to sit beyond the intended maximum can increase injury risk during a collision. To fix the safety issue, Volvo dealerships will inspect and repair the problem for free.

The second recall involved 6,046 Volvo autos. The safety issue involves an engine control module problem that can cause the engine to suddenly stall. This can increase the vehicle's car crash risk. Volvo dealers will update the software of the vehicles.

Also recently, Toyota recalled 650,000 Prius hybrid vehicles because of faulty coolant pumps that can cause the car to lose power and overheat. To date there have been no reports of injuries. 378,000 of the recalled vehicles are in the US.

Meantime, GMC, Chevrolet, and Isuzu have recalled nearly 200,000 trucks because specific models don't comply with the federal requirement for child-restraint anchor systems. The affected trucks don't have a rear seat and come with a 60/40 split bench.

Per the recall notice, the front center seat's top tether anchor is not accessible. Also, the owner's manual does not come with instructions on how to use the tether. Both these issues can result in the improper installation of a child restraint system, which is required for young kids. Improper installation of the restraint can cause the system to perform poorly during a collision, and this can increase the child's risk of injury or death.

Also last month, Nissan recalled over 600,000 vehicles in the US and abroad because of concerns over steering shaft problems involving its Xterra SUVs and Frontier trucks. Nissan recalled a number of Sentras because of battery issues that can lead to problems when starting the car. The auto may also stall while at low speeds. It was just a couple of months before this recall that Nissan recalled over 2 million autos because of problems with the vehicles' engines.

Our auto products liability lawyers applaud any efforts by manufacturers to remedy any safety issues that pose an injury or death risk to vehicle occupants and pedestrians. That said, automakers are supposed to make sure that their vehicles are free from safety issues before allowing their cars to enter the marketplace. There are also many people have been injured or killed because of defective vehicles whose models were never recalled despite having dangerous auto defects. Malfunctioning auto parts and improper auto maintenance can also contribute to causing catastrophic car crashes.

13,000 Volvos involved in two recalls, OC Register, December 7, 2010

Toyota Prius Recall Over Water Pump Issues Affects 650,000 Cars World Wide, MIBZ.com, November 30, 2010

Chevy, GMC, Isuzu recalling nearly 200,000 trucks, OC Register, November 29, 2010

Nissan To Recall More Than 600,000 Vehicles, Mostly In The U.S., The Wall Street Journal, November 12, 2010

Related Web Resource:
Safety Recalls, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

Auto Defects, The Center for Auto Safety

Continue reading "Volvo, Chevrolet, Toyota, GMC, Isuzu, and Nissan Among Automakers to Issue Latest Recalls" »

In an attempt to protect pedestrians—especially kids and the elderly—from backover accidents, the U.S. Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is proposing a new safety regulation to get rid of the blind zones that exist behind motor vehicles. Congress mandated the proposed rule under the Cameron Gulbransen Kids Transportation Safety Act of 2007. Gulbranesen, 2, was killed after his father backed a car over him by accident in their driveway.

Under the proposed rule, the field of view for all pickup trucks, passenger cars, buses, minivans, and low-speed autos with a gross vehicle weight of 10,000 or greater would be expanded so that drivers would be able to see directly in the back of the auto when its transmission is in reverse. Auto manufacturers would likely have to install in-vehicle displays and rear mounted video cameras to meet the proposed standards.

In order to satisfy the rule's requirement, 10% of new autos would have to be in compliance by September 2012. By September 2013 there would have to be 40% compliance among outs. 100% compliance would have to be in effect by September 2014. The NHTSA, however, is quick to point out even when new technology has been put in place, driver attention is still necessary.

According to NHTSA:

• About 18,000 injuries and 292 deaths take place each year because of back-over accidents.


• Kids and the elderly are especially vulnerable to backover injuries.

NHTSA is allowing for a 6-day comment period on this rulemaking. This period starts when the Federal Register publishes the proposal.

Unfortunately, poor visibility, blind spots, and driver inattention can cause a motorist backing out of a driveway, road, or parking space to accidentally run over a pedestrian or a bicyclist. Even if the motorist isn't going at a fast speed, serious injuries and deaths can result.

According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles are involved in more backover accidents than other vehicles. A larger blind spot and the fact that the motorist is usually seated higher off the ground increases these vehicles' backover risk because it makes it harder for drivers to see.

U.S. DOT Proposes Rear View Visibility Rule to Protect Kids and the Elderly, NHTSA, December 3, 2010

Backover Crashes, IIHS

Related Web Resources:
Backover Infomation, Kids and Cars.org

One Child's Death is One Too Many - Preventing Backovers in America's Driveways, AAA Exchange

Cameron Gulbransen Kids Transportation Safety Act of 2007, Public Citizen

Continue reading "US DOT Fights Backover Accidents with Proposed Rear View Visibility Rule" »