HOUSTON, June 2 /PRNewswire/ -- The Vujasinovic & Beckcom Law Firm has filed a product liability lawsuit in Houston, Texas state court on behalf of an Oklahoma special education teacher who suffered a brain injury when her 2006 Toyota Prius ran off a curving road and crashed in to an electrical box in Briggs, Oklahoma.

(Photo:  http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20100602/DA14600)

Attorney Vuk Vujasinovic represents Brenda Bishop in her claims against Gulf States Toyota, Inc., Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc., Toyota Motor North America, Inc., Toyota Motor Corporation, Toyota Motor Engineering and Manufacturing North America, Inc., Toyota Technical Center U.S.A., Toyota Technical Center Japan, James Hodge, Inc. d/b/a Toyota of Muskogee, Aisan Industry Co., Ltd., Denso International America, and CTS Corporation.  

According to the lawsuit, on May 31, 2008, Ms. Bishop was on her way to school to teach when her Prius accelerated uncontrollably and crashed.  The case is Cause No. 2010-33773, in the 151st Judicial District Court of Harris County, Texas.

According to Mr. Vujasinovic, Toyota sent Ms. Bishop a letter after the crash indicating her car was on a recall due to a defect that could cause unintended acceleration.  "This appears to be yet another crash that would have been prevented if Toyota had acted sooner in recalling its cars for acceleration control problems."

Toyota has recalled over 8 million vehicles worldwide over the past several months because of acceleration-related problems.  

The company has received much criticism for its handling of the unintended acceleration problem.  Most recently, a Congressman accused Toyota of "worrying more about defensiveness than about finding answers."  

Litigation concerning recalled Toyotas is heating up.  There are about 230 federal lawsuits and 100 state lawsuits on file against Toyota alleging acceleration-related damages.  On May 25, about 40 state court cases in California were consolidated.  On May 28, a judge in California overseeing consolidated federal cases ordered Toyota to produce thousands of documents related to previous investigations of its cars racing out of control.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's most recent data, 89 deaths could be linked to unintended acceleration in Toyota vehicles.

Vujasinovic & Beckcom focuses much of its practice on automotive product liability lawsuits, including cases involving Toyotas with acceleration control problems.  The law firm's founding partners, Vuk S. Vujasinovic and Brian Beckcom, are both Board Certified in Personal Injury Trial Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.

SOURCE Vujasinovic & Beckcom Law Firm

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