PRODUCT LIABILITY

On the way home from a work-related holiday party, plaintiff, while trying to navigate a dark winding roadway, drove off the road and smashed head on into a tree trunk. Plaintiff’s passenger suffered minor injuries. Upon impact, Plaintiff smashed into the steering wheel, his head crashed into the front windshield, and his left leg exploded into the steering column and undercarriage of the dashboard resulting in injuries to his head, neck and back and multiple left leg fractures. Plaintiff’s passenger suffered minor injuries. Both were wearing seatbelts. Plaintiff alleged that his diagonal shoulder strap and seatbelt were not properly secured to the vehicle frame, allowing it to function so long as it was not required to restrain the driver in response to a front end impact. At impact the diagonal shoulder strap gave way, causing significant injuries to plaintiff, but not to his passenger, whose seatbelt had been assembled properly. The case resolved at Mediation.