Legal News

Chrysler Death

By (Breaking Legal News)

http://www.insiderexclusive.com/component/content/article/1-shows/104-chrysler-death-flax-v-daimlerchrysler-butler-wooten-a-fryhofer-

Chrysler Death

On November 11, 2004, a Nashville, Tennessee, jury returned a verdict of $105.5 million against the DaimlerChrysler Corporation, finding the seatbacks in Chrysler minivans were unsafe, defective and unreasonably dangerous. The case involved injuries to and the death of an 8-month-old child, Joshua Flax, in the rear-end collision which occurred in Davidson County, Tennessee, on June 30, 2001. Joshua was fatally injured when his grandfather?s 1998 Dodge Caravan minivan was hit in the rear. The front passenger?s seatback collapsed backward, and the passenger?s head hit Joshua?s forehead, fracturing his skull. Joshua died the next day. The Insider Exclusive will show how George W. Fryhofer III and Leigh Martin May of the law firm of Butler, Wooten & Fryhofer won this historic $105 million verdict by proving that:

1. Chrysler had known for over 20 years that these seats were deadly and never warned anybody. Instead, they continue to claim there?s nothing wrong and try to mislead the press, public and juries.

2. Chrysler had been marketing minivans as ?safe family vehicles? despite evidence to the contrary from their own engineers and executives.

3. In 1992, when Chrysler appointed a ?Minivan Safety Leadership Team? to investigate safety problems with its minivans, the team concluded that the seatback problem needed to be fixed immediately.

4. Chrysler then ordered Paul Sheridan, the safety leadership team?s chairman, to destroy the team?s meeting minutes and later fired Sheridan. Chrysler sued Sheridan for $82 million in an attempt to muzzle him. Chrysler collected zero from Sheridan.

5. To date, 7 million Dodge, Plymouth and Chrysler minivans are still riding America?s highways with these defective seats. Chrysler still refuses to recall or warn of this danger.

Full post as published by Breaking Legal News on December 28, 2009 (boomark / email).