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Allstate Sues Toyota Over Sudden Acceleration Claims

Sudden acceleration caused by Toyota Motor Corp. vehicles has been an ongoing issue for more than a year. Now there is news that auto insurance provider Allstate is going to sue the automaker for having to pay out substantial money to their customers. The lawsuit was officially filed on October 1^st, 2010 in Los Angeles Superior Court and is aimed at recovering more than $3 million the insurance company paid in claims relating specifically to sudden acceleration problems. According to Reuters, Allstate asserts that acceleration flaws were rooted in a defect in an electronic throttle system Toyota introduced in the 1990s, and that Toyota "essentially hid the problem" instead of recalling the cars or changing the design.

As we previously reported, sudden acceleration could cost Toyota more than $3 billion when you factor in all the costs of recalls and lawsuits. Since early 2010, there have been more than 1.8 million repairs to sticking pedals, 3.1 million repairs to floor mat malfunctions, and more than 128,000 software installations to correct breaking problems. In addition, there have been more than 50 deaths and hundreds of personal injuries resulting from unintended acceleration from Toyota vehicles. Due to the substantial impact on drivers, there are now auto defect lawyers available to handle these specific cases.

Although the issue of unintended acceleration is still alive, it has been reported that complaints have fallen substantially since the beginning of this year. Toyota claims they are now handling only 150 complaints per week, instead of the 800 or so per week last April. Although Toyota’s diligence in recalling and fixing immediate problems has proven effective, there is still plenty of room for another Toyota accident lawsuit.