“Sudden Acceleration” claims have been the focus of many unexplained accidents in Florida, as well as world-wide; for decades. The phrase has been applied to situations when a vehicle inexplicably accelerates without the driver intending to do so. Prior to Toyota’s recent exposure, these claims had gain notoriety from the German auto manufacturer, Audi.
In the most recent rash of cases, the focus has fallen upon Toyota who apparently may have been caught with its proverbial “pants down” and may have known of its vehicles’ tendencies to suddenly accelerate without giving due consideration to the public’s safety, including its purchasers and those who may fall victim to their carelessness.
This writer has investigated many sudden acceleration claims over the last three decades. The most tragic one that comes to mind involved a couple in Tamarac, Florida who had been parked perpendicular to a deep canal at a Bank on McNab Road. Suddenly their car lurched over the parking space bumper stop, then over the hedges and then it lurched into the canal; whereupon the driver tragically drowned. The surviving spouse, who was seated in the passenger seat, but was able to escape, claimed that the car madly accelerated without provocation. The investigating police agency presumed that the driver had mistakenly pressed on the accelerator while the car was in drive.
Years later, a client of ours was struck while walking in front of store front shops at East Hallandale Blvd, in Broward County, Florida. The elderly driver – who was likewise parked perpendicular to the store fronts, assumed that she had placed her transmission into reverse, but it was in drive – just kept pressing on the accelerator until her car likewise lurched over the bumper stop, struck our client and threw him through the plate glass window of an eyeglasses store and then against many rows of eye glasses.
While these two incidents were allegedly explained by driver error, if you or someone you care for falls victim to a similar accident in Florida, you may want to consult with the Fort Lauderdale Injury Lawyers at the Schulman Law Group to learn more about being properly compensated.
