Toyota Sudden Acceleration: A Case Study

Many of us have reported it; it was bound to happen. The combination of making a defective product, then lying or covering it up is the very foundation of litigation. To no one’s surprise, Toyota is getting hit with a large number of product liability lawsuits as a result of their sticky gas pedal problems. The wrongful death lawsuits being filed refer to the cause of the fatalities as sudden unintended acceleration accidents. No matter what they are called, these lawsuits will likely cause Toyota huge headaches in the months and years to come.

Consider the case of Jacquelyn Donoghue from Nebraska who is filing for damages for her injuries and for the demise of her husband John. The bottom line in many of these cases will be that the cars in question didn’t have a “brake to idle” override. The override lets drivers take over the electronic throttle and control the vehicle if it suddenly accelerates. Donoghue’s case alleges that Toyota’s failure to include the override was a cause of her injuries and the death of her husband.

The Donoghue’s were on their way home one night, both securely belted into the car. Jacquelyn was at the wheel when the car suddenly accelerated and went out of control. The Donoghue vehicle careened into a car on the side of the highway with such force that John instantly died on impact. When the Donoghue car came to a halt, Jacquelyn had a collapsed lung, broken jaw, fractured shoulder and head trauma. She had to move out of her home to live closer to relatives for ongoing care.

Cases like Jacqueline’s take a long time to resolve; many plaintiffs in Jacqueline’s circumstances have utilized lawsuit funding while their lawsuits wind their way down the long, litigation tunnel. A lawsuit cash advance on a personal injury lawsuit can often allow a financially distressed plaintiff to handle her medical bills, bills for therapy, mortgage or car payments, tuition, and/or prescriptions while she waits for a settlement or verdict in her contentious litigation.

Often, help is just a phone call away; a professional lawsuit funding company will explain how non-recourse lawsuit funding works. And, it could prevent a plaintiff from settling too early for too little, just to pay her bills.