Since 2009, Toyota has been battling litigation from hundreds of consumers over acceleration problems with their vehicles. The alleged auto part defect has resulted in car accidents causing serious injuries or even death. Louisiana consumers may be affected by the deal reached by the car company. The settlement is estimated to be worth over $1 billion.

The embattled vehicle manufacturer started being hit with lawsuits after consumers began complaining about the problems with their vehicles. The cases were divided by the consumer's loss. Some people only sustained damages to their vehicles, while others filed wrongful death lawsuits. However, personal injury and wrongful death claims are not included in the most recent settlement. Those cases will be going to trial soon.

Toyota has also agreed to compensate consumers who either sold their vehicle or relinquished their leased vehicles over the period of Sept. 2009 through Dec. 2010. Toyota will also pay to offer a supplemental warranty for other parts of the affected vehicles and will add a brake override system to over 3 million vehicles. This system has the potential to save lives because it will force a vehicle to stop even if the gas pedal is being pressed.

The wrongful death and personal injury lawsuits concerning this recall have yet to be settled, but families involved in those will soon have the opportunity to have their claims heard in a courtroom. However, this economic settlement is not completely cleared yet. It will have to be approved by a U.S. District Court judge. Hopefully this is only a technicality, and Louisiana victims and others across the nation affected by this auto part defect lawsuit will soon be compensated for their losses.

Source: Chron.com, "Settlement reached in Toyota acceleration cases," Greg Risling, Dec. 26, 2012