Prius And Toyota Symbols Of Integrity? - A Philadelphia Automotive Product Liability Lawyer Speaks Out
For many years the experienced automotive product liability lawyers at the Philadelphia-based law firm of Reiff & Bily have successfully investigated and litigated many cases against most of the world’s major automobile manufacturers. As an automotive product liability lawyer familiar with many of the defects in automobiles which cause catastrophic injuries and death, I am often consulted by clients and friends of clients requesting which is the safest car and which company has the most integrity. For years, the Prius was one of the benchmarks of “anti-status” automobile manufacturer integrity. When one thought of Prius, we thought of an automobile manufacturer with a conscious and who had integrity with regard to protecting the environment and an eye looking forward to the future. If one goes to Toyota’s website, it is noted “Toyota’s integrity, passion, and innovation extend beyond their vehicle manufacturing. We also believe in helping people improve the quality of their life and their communities.”
Recently Toyota has been on the offensive noting that the Los Angeles Times published an article that wrongly and unfairly attacks Toyota’s integrity and reputation. While everyone has been quick to point the finger at Toyota’s spiraling problems, trial lawyers, as well as U.S. regulators, have been aware of Toyota’s dragging its feet on safety issues as well as fixing defective gas pedals. While Toyota initially came out and stated that the acceleration problem was due to faulty safety mats, this experienced automotive safety product liability lawyer will state that it’s simply not just about the floor mats. Recently, in August of last year, a former managing counsel for Toyota filed a lawsuit against Toyota alleging that Toyota destroyed evidence in hundreds of automobile product liability lawsuits. The lawsuit claims that Toyota destroyed evidence in a ruthless conspiracy to keep the information secret. So much for integrity.
Reiff & Bily is currently investigating cases of sudden unintended acceleration affecting a large number of Toyota cases. Reiff & Bily investigators and attorneys clearly dispute the argument that this problem was entirely linked to floor mats. Last evening Toyota announced a recall of the Prius for alleged faulty braking issues. With all of the recent recalls and confusion owners of affected Toyotas must consider whether or not the manufacturer is really as trustworthy and full of integrity as they advertise and would like you to believe.
