Case Results

DISCLAIMER: Please note that every case is different and these verdicts and settlements, while accurate, do not represent what we may obtain for you in your case.

Seat Collapse - Baird v Chrysler

Plaintiff's decedent was traveling in his 1987 Plymouth Voyager minivan on an interstate highway and approaching an interchange when the minivan was struck in the rear by a pickup truck traveling at 27 mph. On impact, the outboard seat track on the driver's seat peeled apart causing the seat to collapse backward and the decedent's upper body to fall into the bench seat behind him. The van was then struck on the driver's side by a tractor-trailer in the precise area where the decedent's head was located due to the collapsed seat, and he died from massive head injuries. Plaintiff assembled evidence of a design defect in the driver's seat including prior failures. The defendant contended that seats are designed to yield and the injury to the decedent was the result of the tractor-trailer striking the car behind the driver's seat.

Awarded: Settlement $2 Million