Toyota Recall Accident Lawyer News: Toyota U.S.A. January 16 Internal Memo Surfaces Advising Company to Come Clean on Safety Issues

By Orlando Personal Injury Attorney on April 20, 2010

For the many U.S. government officials, consumer advocates and others looking critically at Toyota’s response to its enormous 2009 recall, there’s breaking news that makes the picture beyond corporate walls much clearer.

Toyota has turned over a vast amount of information, some of which has gotten through to the Associated Press. In it are e-mails from one Toyota executive suggesting that the company should “come clean” about the acceleration problems that are now the primary focus of the recall campaign.

The Toyota staffer who counseled transparency as early as January of this year is Irv Miller, a California resident and Toyota’s former Vice President for Environment and Public Affairs. E-mails from Miller to other Toyota executives show that he was urging for a full disclosure law while some of his peers were still trying to keep the issue quiet. His January 16 e-mail pressing for public disclosure predated Toyota’s sticking gas pedal recall announcement by five days.

U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has called Toyota’s close-lipped response to the acceleration issues “a big mistake” and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has fined Toyota to the tune of $16.4 million dollars, a record in the industry, for its poor handling of safety issues in the majority of its new product line.

The proof of prior knowledge included in the new e-mails and documents raises the ire of Americans, many of whom were already convinced that the company shirked its duty in providing timely information to the public. What makes some Americans even angrier is the uneven timeline for Toyota’s world markets. According to established sources, agencies in European nations received information about sticking accelerator pedals and sudden acceleration in September 2009. Many other nations, including Russia and Israel, all had access to the same kinds of information while it seems the United States was in the dark. All of this has prodded officials and others to suggest an improper relationship between Toyota and the Department of Transportation, something Secretary LaHood has vehemently denied.

Toyota Recall Injury Attorney News: Personal Injury Cases

As the controversy continues to churn over the 8.5 million recalled Toyotas in American driveways and parking lots, Toyota owners and stockholders are coming out of the woodwork to demand compensation for loss of value and, for some, personal injury. Dozens of fatalities and many more injuries are part of the aftermath of the sudden acceleration problem, something that poses a problem for many U.S. families. If you or someone in your household has been injured in an accident in Orlando or the central Florida region involving a recalled or defective Toyota, Orlando Toyota recall accident lawyer James O. Cunningham can help. Call 888-425-2004 toll-free, 407-425-2000 locally or use the contact form to reach us and get a case started.

James O. Cunningham

Since 1977, personal injury lawyer James Cunningham has provided effective legal advocacy to people who are injured through the negligent actions of another person or entity throughout the Central Florida area. He fights to obtain recoveries for his clients’ physical and emotional pain and suffering and pursues his clients’ personal injury cases with a commitment to excellence and impeccable preparation.