An Oklahoma County jury found Toyota liable in October 2013 over a fatal crash involving a 2005 Camry, awarding $1.5 million to the injured driver and $1.5 million to the passenger’s family. The jury’s liability verdict was not a punitive-damages award: a later account says Toyota settled before jurors began deliberating on punitive damages.
What happened in the 2005 Camry crash?
The case arose from a September 2007 crash on an Oklahoma highway off-ramp. Driver Jean Bookout was injured, and passenger Barbara Schwarz died. The vehicle was a 2005 Toyota Camry, according to EE Times’ October 24, 2013 report.
At trial, the plaintiffs’ lawyers argued that the Camry’s electronic throttle control system caused sudden acceleration. Toyota’s lawyers argued that driver error caused the crash. Those were opposing trial theories, not facts established here as a general explanation of unintended acceleration.
What did the jury decide, and how much did it award?
The Oklahoma County jury found Toyota liable and found “reckless disregard,” as reported by EE Times. It awarded $1.5 million to Bookout and $1.5 million to Schwarz’s family. The American Association for Justice’s 2017 summary also reported those two awards.
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Did the jury award punitive damages?
No punitive-damages award is established by the available accounts. EE Times reported that a separate punitive-damages phase was scheduled to start the day after the liability verdict. The AAJ’s later summary says Toyota settled before the jury began deliberations on punitive damages. The reported $1.5 million awards were part of the jury’s damages verdict; they should not be described as punitive damages.
Did the verdict prove Toyota’s software caused the crash?
The verdict followed a case in which plaintiffs advanced an electronic-throttle-control theory and Toyota disputed it, but the reporting does not establish that the jury made a separate technical finding about software. EE Times said experts reviewing Toyota source code testified that they found defects and bugs that could cause unintended acceleration. That is a description of trial testimony, not a universal engineering conclusion.
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The distinction matters beyond this case. EE Times also reported that NASA’s investigation of Toyota unintended-acceleration complaints found no electronic cause, while not ruling out the possibility of a software cause. A verdict about one crash does not establish the cause of every reported unintended-acceleration incident or apply automatically to every Toyota vehicle.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Why did the case attract attention?
The case was described as an early bellwether for claims focused on electronic throttle control. Its significance is that a jury found Toyota liable in this individual case and awarded damages after hearing the parties’ competing arguments. The later settlement timing also means the available reporting does not show a jury decision on punitive damages.
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