PERSONAL INJURY LAW: Fed Investigators Accuse Toyota of Hiding Evidence Related to Defective Cars

February 26, 2010

Washington - After Toyota officials were grilled in the US Congress, investigators and lawmakers have accused the car maker giant of “deliberately withholding evidence” related to the defective cars.

Rep. Edolphus Towns (Democratic-New York), chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, said Toyota officials have “willfully hidden the electronic records that could have proven the faulty design of cars which has caused unintentional acceleration.”

The lawmaker said Toyota has committed a “systematic disregard for the law” and has tried to avoid “its legal obligation” to its customers.

But according to a statement, the car maker giant said it has “acted appropriately to the issue” and will “take its legal obligations seriously.”

However, Toyota’s chief executive officer Akio Toyoda has appeared before the Congress on Wednesday asking for forgiveness over their failure to handle the safety issue of their vehicles.

Last week, the committee has subpoenaed Dimitrios Biller, a former Toyota lawyer, to submit the 6,000-page documents which may shed light on how the company is handling the safety disclosures.

Biller claimed Toyota has a “practice of hiding crash data that may be used by consumers who are suing the company with product-related lawsuits.”

After the committee hearing, Toyota officials will face another grilling in the Senate Commerce next week.