Will Chicago Auto Products Liability Plaintiffs Have to Reopen Their Toyota Rollover Lawsuits?
Chicago auto products liability lawyers are watching and waiting to discover if indeed the allegations brought by a former Toyota lawyer who is accusing the automaker of concealing key evidence and information in hundreds of rollover lawsuits are true. If so, a number of Toyota rollover lawsuits that were either settled or with verdicts that came out in favor of the carmaker may have to be reopened.
Last July, Dimitrios Biller sued the his former employer for wrongful termination. He says Toyota made him resign because he disagreed with the way they allegedly mishandled key evidence in over 300 personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits. Biller, who was given a $3.7 million severance package in 2007, is now ready to talk about why he says he was let go.
Biller worked for the world’s biggest automaker from 2003 to 2007. While employed by Toyota, he defended the company against rollover lawsuits filed by plaintiffs and the loved ones of victims that died in catastrophic traffic crashes.
Biller is accusing Toyota of keeping electronically stored data from plaintiffs instead of turning over the information to their products liability lawyers. He also says that Toyota destroyed documents about roof crush issues that were relevant to these cases.
Biller claims that Toyota withheld records about the testing and the designs of vehicle roofs. He says the carmaker has never come up with a document to prove that its roof strength standard is tougher than the federal government’s requirement. Bill claims that currently, there are people who are driving Toyota vehicles that fail to meet the carmaker's own internal standard.
The allegations that Biller is making against Toyota are serious and could impact the outcome of hundreds of products liability cases that were already closed. Our Chicago SUV rollover accident law firm will be watching closely to determine if indeed Toyota has been keeping key information from plaintiffs who perhaps should have received a larger recovery for their injuries, pain and suffering, and losses.
Rollover accidents continue to claim many lives in the US on a regular basis. This is why automakers must design their vehicles in a manner that decreases the chances of a rollover accident and if a rollover crash does happen, the vehicle’s roof should be sturdy enough so that it doesn’t crush inward to cause serious injury or death to vehicle occupants that are secured by their seat belts.
Toyota Accused of Hiding Evidence, CBS News, August 29, 2009
Toyota May Face Push to Reopen Rollover-Crash Cases, Bloomberg, September 1, 2009
Toyota Accused of Concealing Evidence in Rollover Lawsuits, NY TImes, August 31, 2009
Related Web Resources:
Car Accidents, Justia
Rollover and Roof Crush, IIHS
