After previously acknowledging that a spate of accidents in 2009 and 2010 were at least partially attributable to its own faulty equipment, Toyota has since changed tune, alleging that many, if not all, of the recent accidents due to sudden acceleration were a result of driver error.

The claim is in response to almost 200 car accident lawsuits filed by Toyota drivers who alleged that the company was responsible for selling shoddy equipment. Specifically, the lawsuits allege that several Toyota cars were designed in a manner that caused sudden, uncontrollable acceleration.

A filing this week by the Japanese car company in its first court battle revealed that the company plans to pin the blame for the accidents on its consumers, according to a recent report from the Huffington Post.

This first personal injury lawsuit, which was filed by the family of Paul Van Alfen, a Utah resident who died when his car veered off an interstate highway and plunged into a stone wall, alleges that Toyota is responsible for the accident.

The deceased man’s son and wife survived the accident, and reports indicate that they will testify that Van Alfen was unable to brake the car after it suddenly accelerated.

In its filing, however, Toyota contested this claim and alleged that the black box (a data recorder similar to the ones found in airplanes) of Van Alfen’s 2008 Toyota Camry revealed that the driver never attempted to push the brake.

This evidence, if deemed admissible by a judge, could prove fatal for the Van Alfen’s case, as it would prove Toyota’s claim that the accident was due to poor driving, not faulty brakes.

However, attorneys for the plaintiff contend that the black box of a car is not as reliable as its counterpart in airplanes, and should not be used to depict an accurate portrayal of the events leading up to the crash.

Specifically, the plaintiff’s attorneys claim that the black box only records a few seconds worth of data, and that this limitation prevents it from accurately depicting the events that led up to the crash.

As a result of this limitation, some experts on car accident cases warn that Toyota will have to cite other evidence to support their claim, such as skid marks, tire tracks, physical evidence on the vehicle, and eyewitness reports.

Of course, while Toyota claims it is not at fault, the plaintiffs will also be able to point to the company’s recall of roughly 8 million vehicles over fears of sudden acceleration.

While this may have simply represented extreme caution by the company, it does suggest that Toyota was afraid that some of its accelerators or brakes may have actually been faulty. Only time will tell whether Toyota’s prudence will come back to haunt it in court.