New York Personal Injury News & NYC Legal Current Events

Toyota Wins Defective Product Lawsuit In New York

The Toyota Motor Corporation has won a defective auto part lawsuit involving a man who claimed that his car crashed into a tree due to a defect with the car’s floor mat. The New York civil trial took place after Toyota recalled a number of vehicles because of potentially dangerous floor mats and after a large recall of cars and vans last year because of a possible acceleration problem.

The federal jury, who heard the case in New York, had to decide whether the car accident and injury was caused by a defective floor mat slipping under the pedal or whether the crash was caused by human error. After deliberating for less than an hour, the jury decided that the man, 59-year-old Amir Sitafalwalla, caused the crash and that Toyota was not liable for damages. Sitafalwalla’s New York personal injury attorney said that he was disappointed with the verdict, though jurors said that the evidence pointed to human error and not a mechanical defect.

One juror said that they believe that the man, a prominent Brooklyn doctor, probably simply accidentally stepped on the gas pedal instead of the brake. The doctor was pulling out of his home’s driveway in his 2005 Toyota Scion when his car suddenly accelerated into a tree. The Scion was not a part of the Toyota floor mat recall and the doctor had recently worked a 12-hour shift.

It is not clear if the doctor will appeal the court’s decision.

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