In late 2009, Toyota’s sudden acceleration problems became international headline news. But Toyota’s unintended acceleration problems have persisted for more than a decade. In fact, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) ordered Toyota to recall vehicles as early as 1986 because of speed control issues. Toyota’s current generation of problems began in 2002 when Toyota notified its dealers that some Camry models could experience engine surging, which required electronic calibration to repair the problem. In 2003, the Toyota Sienna was the subject of internal communications that dealt with an “unwanted acceleration” incident that occurred during testing. Toyota reported the incident to NHTSA five years later, thus establishing a pattern of deception that has continued to the present. The current cover-up at Toyota has caused the deaths of at least 56 people and hundreds more have been injured, as consumers were uninformed about the safety issues that have plagued Toyota.

Some safety experts claim that Toyota does not know how to fix the current sudden acceleration problem. Instead, the company has blamed drivers for pressing the accelerator instead of the brake. They also blamed floor mats for entrapping gas pedals, and then later claimed that gas pedals were sticking, not returning to idle position. Data shows that Toyota’s unwanted acceleration problems began in 2002 with the introduction of electronic throttle controls. Complaints of sudden acceleration rose by 500% after Toyota incorporated these systems into their vehicles.

Although the cause(s) of Toyota’s acceleration problems may never be fully disclosed, the solution is easy and inexpensive: install the “smart pedal.” The “smart pedal” has been used for over ten years by Chrysler, Nissan, BMW, Audi and Mercedes Benz and costs as little as $1.00 per vehicle. This technology works simply: if a driver inadvertently applies both the accelerator and brake simultaneously or if an electronic malfunction occurs which mimics this situation, the engine automatically shifts into idle, permitting the driver to slow and come to a stop. Toyota says it will begin using this technology in its 2011 models.

Unfortunately, Toyota has gone great lengths to avoid taking responsibility for its mistakes by attacking the research and tests of David Gilbert, an Automotive Technology Professor at Southern Illinois University. While Toyota claimed that their systems could not cause sudden acceleration, Gilbert’s tests showed the opposite: Toyota’s electronic systems could fail to prevent sudden acceleration in certain instances. Toyota told the United States Congress that they would work with Dr. Gilbert, but instead hired Exponent, a research firm, to refute the professor’s findings.

Toyota has refused to accept responsibility for its acceleration problems for years. Rather than addressing this significant safety issue by finding solutions, the company has focused on avoiding safety recalls. Toyota hired investigators away from NHSTA in an effort to stall or shut down NHTSA investigations. Internal documents at Toyota show that the company saved more than $100 million by avoiding a recall because of the sudden acceleration problem. Just one month after Toyota bragged about their cost savings “win”, a family was four of killed in their Lexus after it accelerated out of control.

While Toyota is working on a solution to its sudden acceleration problems, drivers of Toyota and Lexus vehicles should know what to do if they experience sudden acceleration.

Consumer Reports magazine reports that test drivers found the most effective strategy was to hit the brake pedal hard and hold it.

“Don’t start pumping or pounding on the brakes. That negates the vacuum assist and makes the brakes less effective. Toyota goes a step further. It advises stepping on the brake pedal with both feet, using firm and steady pressure.

After hitting the brakes, shift the transmission into neutral.

After disengaging the engine, pull safely off the road, turn off the car and park it.”

How can you be prepared?

Be sure you know how to get your car into neutral. This varies greatly by make and model and is not always intuitive. You want to know how to do this before you find yourself in an emergency situation.

People may be tempted to turn off the engine, but shifting into neutral is a better option. That’s because turning the engine off stops the power steering system and will make it harder to control the vehicle.

Still, if you can’t get it into neutral, don’t fool around. Shut the engine off.

But even this can be tricky if you are not prepared.

Toyota said if its vehicle is equipped with an “engine start/stop” button, you need to push the button firmly and steadily for at least three seconds to turn off the engine. Do not tap the start/stop button.

Other car makers, however, use different on-and-off systems, so be sure you know how your vehicle works.

Sources: The Safety Report, Consumer Reports

An estimated 80,000 people are infected each year in American hospitals with catheter-related bloodstream infections: 30,000 die from these infections. According to a recent survey of medical professionals, most of these infections are preventable. However,  infections continue to plague hospitals because hospital administrators do not understand the significance of the problem and have not committed adequate resources and attention to implement basic procedures to reduce the infection rate. Basic procedures include hand washing, cleaning a patient’s skin with an effective antiseptic, using sterile drapes, clothing, masks, gowns, gloves and dressings. (7/13) Washington Post

This week Skilled Healthcare Group, Inc. was ordered to pay more than $670 million in damages for violating the California health and safety code which requires nursing homes to provide at least 3.2 nursing hours per patient each day. Staff deficiencies put patients at risk because they do not receive proper and timely care, medication or hygiene. More money damages against Skilled Healthcare are possible as the jury will meet next week to determine if the company should pay punitive damages. Skilled Healthcare says it will appeal. (6/8) LA Times

The Law Offices of Henry Hanflik  have been contacted by multiple families who are coming forward accusing  Gracelawn Cemetery of Flint for incompetence and mismanagement of  their family members gravesites. Families are tormented because they do not know where the remains of their loved ones are buried.  Cemetery officials are scrambling for an explanation for the failure to account for the remains. If you or a family member have experienced this situation at Gracelawn Cemetery contact our office at hanflik@tir.com or call 810-720-4000.  (6/18) Mlive.com

Findings in a new federal study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association would suggest that surgery centers may not be as safe as hospital operating rooms. The study found that patients who have procedures, such as colonoscopies, foot surgeries and plastic surgeries, at same-day surgery centers are at higher risk for getting infections. The majority of clinics involved in the study violated the basic fundamentals of infection control, such as washing hands, wearing gloves and reusing devices meant for a single use. Lax infection control practices may pervade the nation’s outpatient surgery centers. (6/8) NY Times

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, every year tens of thousands of Americans die  from workplace diseases, and more than 4.6 million workers are seriously injured on the job. OSHA has beefed up penalties and enforcement aimed at recalcitrant employers who underfund safety programs to reduce their costs, thus putting workers at greater risk for injury or death in the workplace.  (4/22) U.S. Dept. of Labor

A Texas jury has ordered a college student to pay over $21 million in damages after finding him grossly negligent for texting while driving and causing a fatal crash. The unanimous verdict is one of the largest to be obtained in a texting-while-driving case.

“This verdict sends a message loud and clear that the people of Texas will not tolerate this conduct,” said the lawyer in Houston who represented the plaintiffs. He added that the family of the victim hopes to use the verdict and publicity about the case to urge the state legislature to make texting while driving illegal in Texas.

In 2007, Jason Reed Vestal was driving his pickup truck down Highway 6 near Calvert, Texas, when he crossed the center-line and hit an oncoming car head-on. The crash killed the other driver, 21-year-old Megan Small, a student at Baylor University. It also injured Small’s friend Laura Gleffe, who was driving behind her and was run off the road by Vestal’s truck. The Small family turned to civil court after Vestal managed to evade all criminal charges.

A grand jury “no-billed” Vestal and the attorney general did not conduct an investigation into the cause of the crash. Vestal wasn’t drunk at the time, he wasn’t tired, and no witness reported seeing any obstruction in the road that would have made him swerve. So what caused the accident?”

The lawyer for the Small family said he became suspicious when he deposed Vestal, who insisted that he did not have his phone with him when he was driving. But subpoenaed phone records showed that Vestal had made 7 phone calls and sent 15 text messages during the 45 minutes he was on the road. Some of the messages were sent and received moments before the crash.

The Small’s attorney pointed out that Highway 6 is a notoriously busy and dangerous road even at the best of times. “It’s a very treacherous stretch, where there is not much margin of error,” he said. “So it was especially dangerous to be that distracted while driving there.”

Vestal, who is a graduate student at Texas A&M, declared bankruptcy at the start of the trial, thus the verdict was largely symbolic. The Small family announced that it would share any compensation they collect with Laura Gleffe.

“They will get some money from the insurance company,” said the Small’s attorney. “But of course it isn’t about the money. It never was. It’s about sending a message, and memorializing Megan.” (4/15) Excerpted from Trial Magazine

Each year millions of people vacation aboard cruise ships, some carrying thousands of passengers and crew members. These ships are small, floating cities that offer many options for food and entertainment. However, just as in life ashore, passengers can be exposed to dangerous situations involving food-borne illnesses, crimes such as rape or assault, negligence and medical errors. In addition, cruise ship operators have the obligation to protect all passengers from injuries and death, i.e. burns or slip and fall accidents, stemming from maintenance deficiencies on board the ship.

Before you book a cruise, take time to do some research about the sanitation scores of  cruise ships. You will find information on this topic and learn tips about how to stay healthy and safe while you enjoy your cruise vacation. http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/vsp/

If you become ill or are injured while aboard a cruise ship or land excursion, know that cruise ship operators must provide you with a “reasonable standard of care”, care that is comparable to what another patient would receive in a similar medical situation. To learn more about the standards for medical care, staff and facilities, visit: http://www2.cruising.org/industry/medical_facilities.cfm

Although, cruise ships have the duty to protect the physical safety of each passenger, they may fail to do so. This places passengers at risk for becoming victims of crime. The FBI has released some crime statistics for cruise ships: http://www.fbi.gov/congress/congress07/hernandez032707.htm

Cruise ship passengers who are victims of injuries, crime or medical error may sue to recover damages, including loss of wages, pain and suffering and medical expenses. Family members may sue the cruise ship line for the wrongful death of their loved one who died while aboard ship.

Two weeks after awarding $1 million in compensatory damages to the widow of a man who died from bedsores, a Philadelphia jury leveled  $5 million in punitive damages against the same nursing home and hospital because they failed to diagnose and properly treat a urinary tract infection, leaving the man vulnerable to developing bedsores. Workers at both the hospital and nursing home allowed the bedsores to fester and their patient to become malnourished. Two years later the man died from the bedsores. The case is unusual since it may be the first nursing home verdict that awarded punitive damages. In order for a jury to award such damages, the jurors must determine that a facility engaged in “outrageous and reckless conduct.” (3/18) Philadelphia Inquirer

Purchasing Managers at Kraft Foods, Safeway and Frito-Lay have admitted to taking bribes from now defunct SK Foods, whose employees greased palms in exchange for big contracts and inside information on competitor’s bids. For years, SK Foods shipped tons of tainted tomato paste and puree to customers and falsified documents to hide the fact their products contained unsafe levels of mold, such that sales would have been prohibited under federal law. Purchasing managers at Kraft Foods and other companies awarded lucrative contracts to SK Foods while buying their products at inflated prices. Experts say that more aggressive testing of food products, before they reach the marketplace, is necessary to protect consumers. (2/24) NY Times