$150
Car Accident / Product Liability
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Case Details
A jury in the small, upstate New York town of Bainbridge has awarded the plaintiffs damages in the sum of $150 million for the loss of their 4-year old son in a 2012 car accident. The youngster was being driven to a sports lesson when the 1999 Jeep Cherokee in which he was a passenger was hit from behind by a pickup truck. The real culprit, they found, was the design of the Chrysler-manufactured Jeep Cherokee. The child died not from the impact of the rear-end collision itself, but rather, as the result of the Jeep bursting into flames after the crash. The plaintiff contended that the problem was the location of the tank, which is less than a foot from the rear of the vehicle, in what is referred to as the “crush zone.” The evidence against Chrysler included showing that the Jeep’s rear-mounted fuel tank was the cause, according to federal documents, of the deaths of at least 75 people who died in post-crash fires.
Additional Notes
Chrysler knew of the defect and acted with reckless disregard for human life. Chrysler has indicated that it plans on appealing the jury verdict.