Product Liability Law Blog

Ford Motor Co. and a woman who was paralyzed in a 2005 SUV accident involving a defective rear seat latch have reached a confidential auto products liability settlement. The agreement came just after a civil jury awarded Lynn Wheeler $16,444,761 in compensatory damages against Ford and as jury members were getting ready to impose punitive damages.

Wheeler sustained catastrophic spinal cord injuries during a seatback collapse when a car driven by John C. Stanley struck the 2002 Ford Explorer she was a passenger. Wheeler, who was riding in the middle of the backseat of the SUV in between two of her grandchildren, was propelled forward into the vehicle’s center console and the back of the front seat. Meantime, the back seat collapsed over her after the rear seat latch broke.

Her Georgia auto products liability lawsuit accused Ford of designing a rear seat latch that was defective, disregarding safety test results showing that the center lap seat belt wasn’t safe, and, as a cost cutting measure, waiting to install a shoulder restraint for the SUV’s middle seat. A law passed in 2002, but which didn’t go into effect until 2007, now prevents car manufacturers from making vehicles with lap-only seat belts for the rear middle seat.

Wheeler, who is now a quadriplegic, has to use a ventilator and is a confined to a wheelchair. She has three children, nine grandchildren, and has been married to her husband for over 40 years.

The civil jury also held driver John C. Stanley, who was 19 at the time of the head-on crash, liable for $1,271,640 in damages.

Seat Back Defects
Defective seat backs can prove catastrophic for passengers in the event that the seat collapses during an auto accident. Common seat back injuries include spinal cord injuries, which can occur when the rear seat collapses forward and crushes passengers while pushing them into the back of the front seats, and chest and head injuries, which are more likely to occur when the front seat collapses backwards. Children, including those seated in child safety seats, are especially at risk of sustaining fatal injuries during a car crash where a seatback collapse is involved.

Clayton jury returns $17 million verdict, MyCountryPaper, December 26, 2009

Seat failures and occupant restraints, SafetyForum

Related Web Resources:
Ford Motor Co.

NHTSA

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Posted In: Automotive Product Liability , Catastrophic Injuries , Georgia , Seat Back Defects , Spinal Cord Injuries , States

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More needs to be done to prove child safety when it comes to seat belts—especially as not all US states require that kids ages 4-8 use booster seats. Unfortunately most seat belts are unable to properly fit over the bodies of many children to ensure maximum protection, which can result in catastrophic seat belt-related injuries, known as seat belt syndrome, during a car accident.

Just last year, one 7-year-old’s life changed forever when she sustained seat belt-related injuries during a catastrophic Minnesota car accident. Brynn Duncan was wearing a seat belt, but she had pulled the shoulder belt over her back so it wouldn’t sit on her face. The lap belt she was using fell over her stomach. When the vehicle Brynn was riding in crashed, she sustained a crushing spinal cord injury, bowel and kidney damage, and a bruised heart.

Doctors had to remove her kidney, appendix, and gallbladder. Brynn suffered from infection and depression and sustained permanent injuries. She now requires the use of her wheelchair.

Seat belt syndrome is not uncommon and while US states that don’t require kids, ages 4-8, to use booster seats should consider whether to revise their laws (which many parents turn to for guidance), there is a lot more that auto manufacturers and seat belt designers can do to make sure that kids and adults are properly protected when wearing seat belts and that these safety devices do not cause serious injury.

Injuries linked to seat belt syndrome include liver injuries, abdominal organ injuries, bowel injuries, chest trauma, blood vessel injuries, sternum injuries, spinal cord injuries, and death. Seat belt injuries that occur because the safety device was designed poorly or because the seat belt malfunctioned can be grounds for the injured party and his or her family to file a defective seat belt lawsuit.

Recently, automaker Ford announced its latest development in seat belt technology: inflatable seat belts. Designed to improve rear-seat passenger protection, especially for kids, the belts contain airbags that are supposed to inflate during certain kinds of auto collisions. Hopefully the new belts can provide the added protection kids and adults need during an auto collision.

Ford Says Inflatable Seat Belt Could Reduce Crash Injuries, Wall Street Journal, November 9, 2009

AAA Minnesota/Iowa & Safe Kids Minnesota Support Enhanced Child Restraint Legislation "The Brynn Duncan Law", Reuters, January 6, 2009

Brynn Duncan’s condition worsens, surgery needed, Daily Journal, September 10, 2008

Related Web Resources:
Seat belt syndrome, Wrong Diagnosis

Child restraint laws, Insurance Institute for Highway Safety

Continue reading "Seat Belt Syndrome: Child Safety Continues to Take a Back Seat " »

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Posted In: Automotive Product Liability , Catastrophic Injuries , Defective Seatbelt and Restraint System Cases , Injuries to Children & Minors , Kids in Cars , Minnesota , Motor Vehicle Safety , Seat Belts , Spinal Cord Injuries , States

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Denver’s Craig Hospital, a nationally known and respected hospital, now caring for spinal cord and brain- injured patients, was founded by Frank Craig in Lakewood, CO in 1907 for the treatment of indigent men with tuberculosis. Its initial name was “Tent Colony of Brotherly Love.” In 1909, the name was changed to Craig Colony in memory of its founder.

In 1955, with the decline of tuberculosis, the facility started treating multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy, polio and spinal cord injuries. Within two years, with a new medical director, Dr. John Young, Craig began shifting its focus exclusively to spinal cord and brain injuries. Craig officially became known as “Craig Rehabilitation Center.” In 1966, the name became “Craig Rehabilitation Hospital” Dr. Young is considered the founder of modern Craig.

In 1969, Craig moved from Lakewood to Denver and built an 80-bed rehabilitation hospital on the ground of Swedish Hospital. The two were connected by a tunnel. By 1970, Craig began an in-house neurosurgical program.

1974 saw the opening of a shared Neurotrauma Unit at Swedish Hospital, designed by Dr. Harry R. Hahn. It was one of the first models of its kind. Finally, in 1975, Craig became “Craig Hospital.”

The Traumatic Injury Team was created distinct from the Spinal Cord Injury Teams under the direction of Dr. Hahn ad was soon thereafter intensely developed by Dr. Mark Cilo. In 1978, “Pete” Peterson, M.D. published a leading text, “The Management of High Quadriplegia” in 1989.

In 1980, Craig Hospital staff was instrumental in the creation and early development of the Colorado Head Injury Foundation, now known as the Brain Injury Association of Colorado. In 1983, Craig expanded by 63,000 square feet, which included a large gymnasium, an outpatient clinic, a media studio, therapy areas and department offices.

In 1989, U.S. News and World Report began ranking hospitals. Craig was ranked in the top 10 rehabilitation hospitals in the U.S. Craig physicians and staff are widely sought after for presentations and publications, averaging 75 professional presentations a year and publishing 20-25 articles and book chapter per year.

Craig has received numerous prestigious awards over the years for its outstanding medical and support staff and excellent facilities.

Continue reading "Craig Hospital in Colorado One of the Very Best" »

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Posted In: Automotive Product Liability , Brain Injuries , Catastrophic Injuries , Colorado , Injuries to Children & Minors , Spinal Cord Injuries , Spinal Cord Injuries , Traumatic Brain Injuries

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