- Auto Accident Injury
- Auto Deaths
- Back Injuries
- Brain Injury
- Car Accident Injury
- Catastrophic Injury
- Closed Head Injury
- Design Manufacturing
- Fuel Fed Fire Injury
- Head Injuries
- Occupant Ejections
- Paralysis
- Paraplegia
- Quadriplegia
- Roof Crush Injury
- Seat Belt Injuries
- Tempered Glass
- Tire Blow Out Injury
- Trailer Sway
- Traumatic Head Injury
Wrongful death verdict involving SUV rollover held in abeyance
July 22, 2005
A $5.2 million verdict in a wrongful death action involving an SUV rollover accident must be held in abeyance, a condition of undetermined ownership, because the plaintiffs failed to demonstrate that the two crash tests they presented to the jury had gained acceptance within the scientific community when used together and on the same vehicle.
The plaintiff, Ann Styles, filed the wrongful death suit on behalf of herself, her two sons and her husband, who was killed when a Buick LeSabre crossed a New York median divider on Route 17 and hit the family's Chevrolet Suburban SUV. The head-on-collision caused the SUV to spin, slide on its side and rollover an undetermined number of times, causing the roof to collapse and killing the husband and father, who sat in the passenger's seat.
The plaintiff's complaint alleged General Motors had design defects that rendered the vehicle uncrashworthy. The complaint also alleged the surviving family members suffered emotional and physical injuries from the SUV accident.
The jury awarded the plaintiffs $5.2 million, but the defense appealed, arguing the plaintiffs' test was not generally accepted within the pertinent community, and the appellate court agreed. Noting both the individual components of the plaintiffs' two-part test were substantially similar to generally accepted industry tests, the court said the plaintiffs failed to establish that the pertinent scientific community had accepted the use of both tests, on the same vehicle.
The panel remanded the case for a Frye hearing to establish "the general acceptance of [the plaintiffs'] combination of tests," among other things. Rollover and side impact deaths represent more than 40 percent of all highway deaths each year. In 2004, 42,800 people were killed in vehicle crashes, and the number of SUV rollover deaths from 2003 to 2004 increased 6.9 percent.
According to Justice James M. Catterson, who wrote a concurring opinion, joined by Justice David Friedman, if the Frye hearing results in the acceptance of the expert testimony, the verdict will be released to the plaintiffs, pending potential appeals, and exclusion of the evidence would likely result in a new trial.
For more information on crashworthiness and Ford recalls, contact us to confer with an attorney.
Toyota SUA Information
Recent News
The federal government is under increasing pressure to impose tougher regulations on vehicle crashworthiness. In a long overdue effort, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration...
