Sudden Acceleration

Accidents Caused by Sudden Acceleration

Every year there are thousands of driver complaints of sudden acceleration. Some are due to driver error, some to stuck throttles and some to other defective or poorly designed components. Fortunately, most do not result in serious injury. If a member of your family was driving a vehicle when it unexpectedly accelerated and serious injury resulted a full investigation should be pursued. Product liability lawyers at our Kansas City, Missouri, firm have extensive experience in handling claims for auto defects. If you would like to talk with one of our attorneys contact our office and make arrangements for a free consultation and claim review. We welcome attorney referrals and our automobile product liability practice is nationwide.

Sudden acceleration: our client was awarded $80,000,000

On September 5, 2000 Connie Peters started her 1993 Oldsmobile Cutlass and began to back out of the driveway. Her car then unexpectedly accelerated, moving over one hundred feet in reverse before striking a tree in her neighbor's yard. The Cutlass then continued to accelerate over ninety feet back across the street to her yard before coming to rest on top of some landscape timbers. As a result of the accident Connie suffered catastrophic brain injuries. Lawyers at our Kansas City, Missouri, law firm represented the Peters family in their claim against General Motors Corporation.

General Motors claimed that Connie Peters accidentally pushed the accelerator and continued to push it for one hundred feet. A Jackson County jury disagreed and returned an eighty million dollar verdict in favor of the Peters family, including fifty million in punitive damages.

When preparing for trial our attorneys acquired and examined General Motors' internal documents and the testimony of engineers. Our lawyers found that the cruise control on the Oldsmobile Cutlass had been known to activate the throttle inadvertently. In fact, despite over 1,200 consumer complaints about sudden acceleration on similar models GM failed to correct the situation. Extensive discovery lasting over a year and a half culminated in a successful result for the Peters family.

Sudden Acceleration - Settlements & Verdicts