Local Lawsuit Highlights Toyota's Mounting Legal Woes

St. Charles resident Ed Izenstark claims the gas pedal of a rented Toyota Corolla became stuck on Dec. 26 resulting in an injury crash, as reported by Chicago Now (a copy of the complaint is available via the above link). He's suing Toyota for strict liability and negligence, and the car rental company Hertz for negligence.

While Toyota's gas pedal problems have been well-covered by the media, resulting in an estimated 19 fatalities and culminating in a massive recall estimated to cost $2 billion, a CNN article suggests that legal settlements could cost Toyota even more.

At least 30 lawsuits involving Toyota's gas pedal problems have been filed in the U.S. so far but that number could rise substantially, according to CNN. The article quotes investment grade analyst Craig Hutson:

"Lawyers are champing at the bit to get at these guys, and the company has come out and largely admitted mistakes in respect to these issues."

In addition to the gas pedal recall, Toyota more recently recalled 437,000 Prius hybrids for problems with the anti-lock braking systems in the 2010 models, CNN reports. The carmaker faces at least one class action lawsuit associated with the Prius recall.

The suit filed by Mr. Izenstark, who is represented by Illinois injury attorney Philip J. Berenz, seeks damages in excess of $50,000, legal costs and "such other and further relief as the Court and/or Jury deems just and proper under the circumstances."

The negligence claim against Toyota states that the company "carelessly and negligently designed, manufactured and sold" the Corolla car that Mr. Izenstark claims led to his injuries. The strict liability claim states that the car was "defective and unreasonably dangerous" before it even rolled off the assembly line.

As for the negligence claim against Hertz, Izenstark claims the rental company "should have known of problems with the Corolla at issue or the Toyota recall or future, intended recall."

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