Woman Sues Toyota Over Allegedly Faulty Liftgate

Toyota is being sued in Florida by a woman who claims she was injured by a faulty liftgate. According to the lawsuit, the woman was unloading materials from the back of her vehicle when the liftgate suddenly fell on top of her head. The plaintiff alleges that Toyota is responsible for her injuries and contributed negligence to the cause of the accident. Toyota is accused of failing to warn potential drivers that the liftgate could fall, failing to warn customers about the dangers of the liftgate, and designing the liftgate in a defective way.

The plaintiff is claiming that she suffered substantial injuries as a result of the allegedly defective liftgate. These include injuries to her head, medical expenses related to the cost of care, decreased quality of life, pain and suffering, and lost wages.

Class-action lawsuit over defective liftgates 

Toyota is facing another lawsuit over defective liftgates. This one, a class-action, alleges that Toyota models have defective liftgates that can go wrong and prevent the rear doors of the vehicle from closing all the way. The Highlander model is primarily being targeted by these lawsuits. Plaintiffs allege that Toyota failed to warn them about the potentially defective liftgates and knew about the problem since 2010, but failed to issue a recall. In general, plaintiffs are complaining that the liftgate gets stuck in the open position. The class-action covers all individuals who purchased one of the affected Highlander models.

In 2012, Toyota sent a service bulletin to dealerships stating that the back door on Highlander models may not close properly. They issued instructions on how to fix the problem but never alerted their customers to the issue. Nor did they issue a recall. No injuries were reported concerning the allegedly defective liftgates making the plaintiff’s case mentioned above unique to the circumstances.

Product liability lawsuits 

Companies that manufacture products are strictly liable when they cause injury. That means that the plaintiff does not need to show that the company itself was necessarily negligent, but that they used the product the way a reasonable person would and were injured in the process. Plaintiffs can make one of three claims against companies that manufacture products: 1) There was a design defect that rendered the product unreasonably dangerous, 2) There was a manufacturing defect that rendered the product unreasonably dangerous, or 3) That the company failed to warn consumers about a potential defect that caused them injury.

In the case mentioned above, the plaintiff is alleging that there is a design defect with the Toyota liftgate that renders it unreasonably dangerous, and that Toyota failed to warn customers about the issue. Since there is a class-action lawsuit alleging problems with Toyota’s liftgates, the plaintiff has a strong case for failure to warn.

Talk to a Florida Product Liability Lawyer Today 

Halpern, Santos & Pinkert represent the interests of Florida residents who have been injured by a defective automotive part or product. Call our Florida personal injury attorneys today to schedule a free consultation and we can begin listening to your story immediately.

Source:

law.com/dailybusinessreview/2022/10/27/toyota-sued-in-florida-over-alleged-faulty-liftgate-in-lexus/