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Toyota Ordered to Pay $208 Million to Crash Victims
A county judge in Texas has ordered Toyota Motor Corp. to pay a family $208 million for injuries the plaintiffs attribute to a faulty front seatback design.
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A county judge in Texas has ordered Toyota Motor Corp. to pay a family $208 million for injuries the plaintiffs attribute to a faulty front seatback design, Automotive News reports.
The nine-member jury had asked for a penalty of $243 million after finding Toyota guilty of gross negligence.
The injuries occurred in Dallas when the family’s Lexus ES 300 sedan was rear-ended at a stop light. A 3- and 5-year old were in the rear seat in child safety seats. The impact resulted in the front seatbacks collapsing into the child seats and inflicting serious head trauma to both children.
The plaintiffs’ attorneys argued that the seats showed design, engineering and structural flaws. They further accused Toyota of deliberately designing the seats to protect front-seat occupants at the expense of rear-seat passengers.
Toyota blames the injuries on the severity of the collision. The company tells AN it believes the judgment suffers from “serious flaws” and says it will present additional arguments for a new trail or further review.
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