Toyota is being sued by seven insurance companies in an attempt to recover money paid to cover crashes reportedly caused by sudden acceleration, the Los Angeles Times reported. The insurers are seeking more than $230,000 for 14 crashes throughout the United States.
The insurers quote data blaming 725 crashes on the problem and say Toyota should have equipped its cars with an override system that would cause a car to idle if the brake and gas were deployed simultaneously.
The lawsuits allege that “certain of Toyota’s cars and trucks have a defect that causes sudden uncontrolled acceleration to speeds of up to 100 mph or more,” the Los Angeles Times reported.
Toyota told the newspaper that the lawsuits were without merit.
“Toyota believes that any allegation that a vehicle-based defect is the cause of unintended acceleration in this or any other complaint is completely unfounded and has no basis,” Toyota spokesperson Celeste Migliore said.
The insurance companies are American Automobile Insurance Co., Fireman’s Fund Insurance, National Surety Corp., Ameriprise Insurance, IDS Property Casualty Insurance, Motorists Mutual Insurance and American Hardware Mutual Insurance.
The lawsuits were filed Dec. 30 in Los Angeles Superior Court. They follow the recent disclosure that Toyota paid $10 million to the family of four people killed in a runaway Lexus crash that led to recalls of millions of the automaker’s vehicles.
In October 2010, Allstate filed a lawsuit against Toyota in hopes of recovering $3 million-plus it paid out for claims in accidents related to sudden acceleration. State Farm also considered filing a suit against the automaker.
More information:
Allstate Files Lawsuit Against Toyota Over Acceleration Issue
