One of the most prominent product liability stories of the last several years has been the Toyota recalls related to problems such as sudden acceleration issues. Although Toyota has not been in the news much lately, there are still hundreds of pending lawsuits against the manufacturer for defects that allegedly caused serious and fatal car accidents.

One such lawsuit has local roots. The mother of a Knoxville marine filed a lawsuit against Toyota in December, just one year after her son died in a car accident on I-640. Just before the fatal crash, the young marine was seen driving his 2008 Toyota Yaris at a high rate of speed, according to information released by the Knoxville Police Department.

The lawsuit alleges that the victim was unable to control the electric throttle on his car, and that there was no brake override to compensate for the unintended acceleration.

Attorneys said that the young marine's life might have been saved if Toyota had recalled more of its vehicles over the last few years. They blame Toyota for knowing about the problem but failing to take action.

Toyota denies the allegations. A spokesperson for the company released a statement which said, in part: "we remain confident that reliable scientific evidence will demonstrate that no defect exists in our electronic throttle control systems and that brake override is not a universal remedy for unintended acceleration."

But this grieving mother is just one of hundreds or even thousands of Americans who disagree with Toyota's assessment of the situation. And when these lawsuits are finally heard in court, the facts will hopefully speak for themselves.

Source: WBIR.com, "Family of Marine killed in car crash files lawsuit against Toyota," Dec. 21, 2011