NHTSA seeking $16 million in fines from Toyota
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is looking to collect $16.4 million in fines from Toyota for not disclosing the nature of potentially dangerous product defects that may have lead to serious car accidents and could be linked to numerous deaths.
The fine is the largest allowed under federal law for this type of case. Under federal regulations, car manufacturers are required to notify the NHTSA within five days of recognizing a defect with the potential to cause injury. Judging by documents obtained by federal investigators, Toyota waited to notify the NHTSA for at least four months that the gas pedals on several of its models had a tendency to stick.
If you'll remember, Toyota has issued several recalls over the last six months to combat a sudden acceleration problem in many of their models. Initially, the company claimed all of the problems were being caused by floor mats, but the newly obtained documents prove that they knew about a mechanical problem with the gas pedal even as they blamed the sudden acceleration reports on floor mats.
Toyota has not yet indicated if it will try and appeal the fines.
While the proposed fine may be the maximum allowed by federal law, it is just a tiny fraction compared to the huge profits brought in yearly by the world's largest automaker. Outside of these fines, there are numerous product liability lawsuits aimed at the company as well.
If companies are negligent in producing a product, they must be held accountable to ensure that lives are not lost and more people don't suffer injury. If you or someone you love has bee injured by a product defect, contact a personal injury attorney as soon as possible for a consultation on your case.
