— A Toyota Tundra rear bumper lawsuit alleges the truck was equipped with defective rear bumper reinforcement brackets that caused the bumper to detach.
Plaintiff William Boomhower says he climbed into the cargo bed of his 2016 Toyota Tundra by stepping on the rear bumper which allegedly detached from the truck, causing the plaintiff to fall and break a bone in his right hand and one in his right wrist.
The incident in September 2016 was followed by an October visit to Ira Toyota, in Danvers, Massachusetts, the dealership where the plaintiff purchased the truck. The dealer allegedly commented that the rear bumper was faulty, but the dealer still refused to cover the cost of replacement parts.
Then January 2017 rolled onto the calendar and Toyota announced a recall of 2016-2017 Tundra trucks with defects in the rear step bumpers. The lawsuit quotes recall documents from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration about the Tundra bumpers:
“The subject vehicles are equipped with resin rear step bumpers and resin reinforcement brackets at the outboard corners. In the event of a longitudinal impact to the bumper, the resin bracket may become damaged. If this were to occur and a person steps on the corner of the bumper, a portion of the bumper may break away, which could cause the person to fall, increasing the risk of injury.”
According to the plaintiff, the 2016-2017 Tundra has two options for the rear step bumper’s reinforcement brackets, either resin or steel, and Toyota allegedly must have known that steel was a safer option for the rear bumpers.
Nevertheless, the automaker allegedly chose the less safe resin brackets to save money, only to later have to spend money to recall 76,000 trucks.
Mr. Boomhower says the dealership contacted him in February 2017 and warned him not to step on the rear bumper. In addition, the dealership said it called the plaintiff to let him know about the January recall, however, the plaintiff says it was all too late to save him from two broken bones.
Boomhower says he continues to suffer pain from his injuries and the broken bones have hampered his normal activities.
The Toyota Tundra rear bumper lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts - William Boomhower v. Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc., et.al.
Mr. Boomhower is represented by the Chapdelaine Law Office, P.C.
CarComplaints.com has owner-reported complaints about Toyota Tundra trucks.