Toyota Prius with stuck accelerator hits 90 mph before stopping
The driver of a Toyota Prius called 911 when his accelerator stuck and the car reached 90 mph before a California Highway Patrolman assisted the driver in stopping the car. While the driver said he was unable to stop with car with the brake, the police officer instructed him to apply the emergency brake at the same time he was applying the brake. This slowed the car down to 50 mph whereupon the driver turned the engine off. Thankfully, no one was injured. The complete story can be read here.
ATV flips on side, killing 3 year-old boy in Jones County, Mississippi
On Sunday, a 3 year-old boy died after an Artic Cat ATV he was riding in flipped on its side, killing him on impact. The ATV, driven by an 18 year-old, had three passengers, ages 3 to 11. The other passengers suffered minor injuries.
Nursing home minimum liability insurance bill killed by Mississippi Senate committee
In an update to a previous post, the Mississippi Senate killed a bill in committee that would have required Mississippi nursing homes to carry $500,000 liability insurance. Amazing. Well, it appears that Sid Salter is going to do some investigative reporting on why it was killed. Read his blog posting about the issue here. Hopefully, he will be able to shine some light on the motivation of those responsible for killing a bill that was needed for the protection of the elderly in Mississippi.
I hope those responsible for this bill being killed sleep well knowing that if your parents or grandparents in nursing homes across the state are injured or abused, there is a possibility the nursing home will not have insurance to cover the injuries. Says a lot about how we treat the elderly.
Some consumers complain about sudden acceleration after recall repair
There are recent reports of consumers who had their Toyota repaired as part of the recall for sudden acceleration, but still had sudden acceleration problems after the repairs. That raises the question as to whether Toyota has identified the problem of the sudden acceleration. Read the story here.
Mississippi bill likely to die in Senate committee. Victims? Nursing home residents.
A bill that passed the Mississippi House with Republican support would have required nursing homes in Mississippi to carry a minimum of $500,000 liability insurance. However, it appears the bill will die in the Senate committee due to politics. Where is the justice? Even Sid Salter criticizes this one. Check out his blog on this issue.
Unfortunately, the victims of this miscarriage of justice are the nursing home residents subjected to abuse or neglect who will never be properly compensated for their injuries.
Senator Durbin's critique of calls for medical malpractice reform
This clip is worth watching as Senator Dick Durbin tears apart the mantra heard from some in Washington D.C. that the first thing we need is medical malpractice reform, not health care reform.
E-filing coming soon to Madison County, Mississippi Circuit Courts
Great news! Electronic filing will start on a voluntary basis on March 1st for Madison County Circuit Courts. It will be mandatory starting April 15th. E-filing started in Madison County Chancery Court and has now expanded to Scott County Chancery Court. Hopefully, e-filing will become the norm soon in all Chancery and Circuit courts in Mississippi.
Texting while driving prohibition passed by Mississippi Senate
Senate Bill 2595 unanimously passed the Senate and is headed to the House Transportation Committee for consideration. The bill would outlaw texting while driving for all individuals and would outlaw the use of cell phones while driving for those under 18, except in a case of emergency. Let's hope the House realizes how many lives can be saved by this measure. It is time to put down the cell phones and pay attention to roadway while driving.
I recently saw a bumper sticker that highlights the danger of texting while driving. It said, "If you want to see Jesus soon, keep on texting while driving." Call upon your representatives to pass this important measure.
Toyota unsure if acceleration problem fixed with recall
In some amazing testimony from the Congressional hearings yesterday over Toyota's unintended acceleration problem with its cars, the following was heard in an exchange between Rep. Henry Waxman and James Lentz, III, president of Toyota Motor Sales USA:
Waxman: "Do you believe that the recall on the carpet changes and the recalls on the sticky pedals will solve the problem of sudden, unintended acceleration?"
Lentz: "Not totally"
Waxman: "What do you need to do?"
Lentz: "We need to continue to be vigilant and continue to investigate all of the complaints that we get from consumers -- that we have done a relatively poor job of doing in the past"
This exchange can be of little comfort to Toyota and Lexus owners. Essentially, Toyota is saying they are not sure if the acceleration problems will be fixed by modifying the accelerator. It already appears the floor mats was more of a red herring than an actual defect in the car. Now Toyota is saying the mechanical fix to the accelerator problem will not totally fix the problem. What Toyota has not fully addressed is reports of the electrical problems in its acceleration system.
One of the victims of the unintended acceleration in a Toyota, Rhonda Smith, testified yesterday about her near death experience in trying to stop a runaway Toyota. What is frightening is that she testified that when the accelerator stuck, she put the transmission in reverse, applied the emergency brake as well as pushing on the brake as hard as possible. However, the car did not slow down. Watch her testimony below.
If you or a loved one has been injured by a Toyota or Lexus due to unintended acceleration, you need to consult an experienced car defect attorney. At the Kisselburgh Law Firm, we have years of experience in representing clients injured by defective automobiles. You can contact us at 601-936-4040 or toll free at 877-601-4040.
Mississippi needs tougher laws on ATV use by children
The Hattiesburg-American had an article on Sunday calling for tougher laws on the use of ATVs by children. While the legislature is currently considering proposals making helmet use mandatory for children younger than 16 and requiring a driver's license or completion of a ATV safety course, more needs to be done to ensure the safety of children. At a recent hearing, Dr. John Porter of the UMMC Trauma Center said the Center sees two or three ATV crash victims every week. For every patient who dies, three or four are critically injured and about 25 percent have debilitating injuries, according to Porter. More alarming is the fact that Mississippi death rates from ATV crashes for children under 16 are increasing at twice the rate of all ATV deaths.
Toyota sudden acceleration complaints seen as early as 2003
State Farm reported to the government a spike in complaints of sudden acceleration in 2004. A series of e-mails in 2004 between State Farm and NHTSA officials show that the government had already been investigating the issue of sudden acceleration in Toyotas. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, according to the Detroit News article, "had already begun looking into complaints of unintended acceleration in certain Toyota vehicles in 2003 before State Farm supplied any information on that topic...".
The e-mails show that there were complaints of sudden acceleration in the 2002-04 Toyota Camry and Camry Solara, and the 2002 Lexus ES 300, Further, in September 2007, Toyota agreed to recall 2007-08 Lexus ES 350 and 2007-08 Camry floor mats, but did not do any repairs to the accelerators.
This latest information raises the question as to whether the current recall is large enough given older Toyota Camry and Lexus vehicles were not included in the current recall. If the problem as been around since 2003, then there could be a number of vehicles on the roadway not subject to the recall.
Oregon jury awards 4.5 million to pain pump victim
An Oregon jury awarded $4.5 million to a man injured by a pain pump manufactured by I-Flow Corp. of Lake Forest, California. In 2004, Matthew Beale hurt his right shoulder while playing football. After surgery, doctors inserted a pain pump, which delivered pain medication directly into his shoulder through a catheter. Over the next few months, Beale complained of continued pain. Doctors found the cartilage in his shoulder joint was almost completely worn away, a condition known as chondrolysis. At trial, attorneys for Beale proved the unapproved use of the pain pump caused the chondrolysis, a permanent injury.
The case was considered a test case for many other lawsuits pending against the manufacturer of the pain pump for an unapproved use of the medical device. The pain pump was only approved by the FDA for use in soft tissue, but I-Flow marketed it directly to doctors without informing them of the risks of using it on joints. In fact, I-Flow had previously request the FDA to approve it for use in joints, but the request was denied. Other lawsuits are pending against I-Flow, Stryker, Sorenson and other manufacturers of these pain pumps. I-Flow was acquired by Kimberly-Clark last year.
If you have been injured by a pain pump, or other medical devices, call the Kisselburgh Law Firm for a free consultation to discuss your legal rights.
437,000 Prius vehicles recalled worldwide due to brake problems
In a follow-up to a previous post, Toyota announced it is recalling 437,000 Prius hybrid vehicles due to brake problems. The braking problem occurs in colder weather and on bumpy roads. This recall is the latest hit to Toyota which is still reeling from its failure to quickly address complaints of stuck accelerators on other Toyota models.
State Farm warned NHTSA about Toyota accelerator problem in 2007
State Farm Insurance warned federal safety regulators in 2007 about a rising report of unexpected acceleration in Toyotas. According to an article in today's Washington Post, a State Farm spokesperson said the alerts to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration were "numerous" and not "everyday occurrences." State Farm would not elaborate further on the warnings given to U.S. government officials.
The evidence coming to light shows Toyota and the U.S. government knew about these problems long before initiating a recall of the vehicles. Expect some more information in the coming days as congressional hearings start tomorrow to determine who knew what and when.
Toyota fixes cars in Europe long before U.S. recall
The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Toyota provided a fix for the accelerator problems in Europe almost six months ago. According to Toyota's quality chief, Toyota started receiving consumer complaints about sticky pedals in Europe in January and February, 2009. While company engineers struggled at first to diagnose the problem, they eventually identified condensation inside the pedal's mechanism as the cause and rolled out a fix in August, 2009.
If this is true, then Toyota will have some serious problems explaining to U.S. juries why they waited so long to fix a problem identified last January and which they corrected in Europe in August, 2009. This is the type of evidence that justifies large punitive damages awards in cases. How can you justify not fixing the pedals in U.S. cars and allowing U.S. citizens to be killed or injured by a defect that you are aware of and have provided a fix for in Europe. Not a good day, month, or year for Toyota.
If you or a loved one has been injured as a result of a struck accelerator in a Toyota vehicle, contact the Kisselburgh Law Firm for a free consultation. At the Kisselburgh Law Firm, we have years of experience in representing those injured by defective products. You can contact us at 877-601-4040 or 601-936-4040.
