Toyota Ordered To Pay $242 Million To Texas Family

Toyota Ordered To Pay $242 Million To Texas Family

Last week a Texas jury found in favor of a family whose two young children were severely injured in a read-end collision, ordering Toyota to pay $98 Million in damages to the two children and $144 million in punitive damages. The jury in state court determined that Toyota Motor Corp. was grossly negligent by not addressing a flaw in the design of the front seats of their 2002 Lexus ES300. 

The specific flaw that caused the injuries lie in the structure of the seatbacks, which the family has claimed prevent whiplash for the driver and passenger in the front seats at the expense of the passengers in the rear seats.

Eric Booth, a spokesman for Toyota said in a statement: “While we respect the jury’s decision, we remain confident that the injuries sustained were the result of factors specific to this very severe collision, not a defect in the design or manufacturing of the 2002 Lexus ES300. We will consider our options moving forward.”

Frank Branson, the attorney for the family rebutted:

“This is a danger that Toyota has known about. This company has had plenty of time to design around these safety shortcomings or at least provide the public with warnings. Our children deserve better.”

Hopefully future iterations of Lexus models will address this flaw, leading to less serious injuries resulting from collisions in the future.

At North Fresno Collision Center - Palm Bluff here in Fresno, CA or hearts go out to the children affected and hope for a speedy and complete recovery.

Written By: Todd Hendrickson
Source: Bloomberg