DALLAS, Feb. 14, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- A jury has
awarded $37.6 million to a
Dallas woman who was left
paralyzed from injuries caused by a poorly designed seat belt
system in a Honda minivan that rolled over in a collision in
Dallas in 2015.
Sarah Milburn, 27, was a
passenger in a Honda Odyssey that was hit broadside by a pickup
truck on Nov. 15, 2015, causing the
van to roll over onto its side and top. Ms. Milburn, who was a
passenger in the third-row middle seat, suffered a broken neck and
was left a quadriplegic, with very limited use of her arms and
hands.
Ms. Milburn sued American Honda Motor Co. Inc. of Torrance, California, a subsidiary of Honda
Motor Co., Ltd. (NYSE: HMC), claiming Honda's design for the seat
belt in the third row's middle seat is defective. Specifically, the
seat belt is a two-part system requiring the user to grasp a
detachable shoulder strap from the van's ceiling, anchor it to the
seat and then pull the belt across the user's hips and buckle
it.
In independent testing, an expert showed the jury that fewer
than 10 percent of people who were unfamiliar with the van's
two-part seat belt system were able to use it properly.
"What the jury understood is that it's not enough to just equip
a car with seat belts. The carmaker also has to make sure people
can and will use them safely," said attorney Charla Aldous of AldousWalker in
Dallas, who along with
Brent Walker represented Ms.
Milburn at trial. "Sarah put the seat belt on the same way 50 out
of 53 people in our studies did and wearing it that way was
actually more dangerous than having no seat belt at all."
Ms. Milburn also was represented by attorney Jim Mitchell of the PayneMitchell Law Group
in Dallas.
The jury verdict includes a finding that the regulations
governing seat belts in passenger cars were inadequate to protect
the public from harm. The family is hopeful the finding will lead
to the creation of "Sarah's Law," which would forbid automakers
from using this seat belt system in the future.
The case is Sarah Milburn v.
American Honda Motor Co. Inc., number DC-16-16470 in the
116th Civil District Court in Dallas County, Texas.
The AldousWalker law firm represents clients in civil
litigation, personal injury, medical malpractice, products
liability and wrongful death cases. Learn more about the firm at
http://www.aldouslaw.com.
Media Contact:
Mark
Annick
Androvett Legal Media
214-559-4630
mark@androvett.com
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SOURCE AldousWalker