Toyota Motor Corporation has recently been ordered to pay $12.5 million to Chelsie Hill, a woman who was severely injured in a 2010 crash involving a 1996 Toyota 4Runner.
Hill, who had been a dancer in high school, was left a paraplegic when the vehicle’s lap seat belt she was wearing nearly cut her body in half. Hill’s seat in the Toyota 4Runner was the only one without a shoulder belt, and she was the only passenger of five to suffer critical injuries resulting from the crash.
While Chelsie Hill is still alive, her devastating ordeal could have been prevented if Toyota had considered putting safety before sales. When a 2005 federal safety regulation requiring all new vehicles come equipped with rear-center lap-shoulder belts was put into effect, Toyota did nothing to update their older vehicles and did not even warn their customers of the dangers of using lap-only belts.
This ruling has come in a midst of multiple Toyota recalls, lawsuits, and settlements. If you have been injured as the result of a defective vehicle, do not hesitate to contact us today. You might be entitled to compensation for your injury or the wrongful death of a loved one.
