Product Liability / Defective Products

$1.2 million
Case Details: Wrongful death recovery for the loss of a teenage son against the manufacturer of an unstable SUV, which rolled when a defective rear tire failed, and against the manufacturer of the tire. Both required as a condition of settlement that their names not be mentioned and that the settlements be confidential. The vehicle was being driven on a flat, level interstate highway when tire failure cause the SUV to roll.

$1.5 million
Case Details: Defective product recovery for the wrongful death of a spouse. A negligent tire inspection by a tire dealer resulted in a defective tire failing at freeway speed a few hours later. The blowout caused a Ford Explorer to roll on a flat, level road.
Cardenas v. Ford, et al, San Diego County Superior Court.

$3.0 million
Case Details: Wrongful death of a college student caused by a delaminating rear tire on her SUV, resulting in multiple rollovers. Before the crash, her father had the car repaired at his regular dealer, who noted that all four tires were "out of round." Those facts were never reported to the family. Witnesses saw the SUV traveling at 70 on an interstate highway and being driven safely immediately before the rollover occurred.
Clark County District Court, Las Vegas, Nevada

$1.7 million
Case Details: First defective product personal injury recovery against BMW in the United States. An aeronautical engineer was rear-ended in his 1969 BMW 1600 by a drunk driver. traveling at a reported 90 miles per hour. The actual speed at impact, based on the crush suffered by the BMW, was approximately 17 miles per hour. At this low speed the BMW exploded into a fireball and caused severe personal injuries: third degree burns. Following the collision, the wrecked BMW mysteriously disappeared near the time BMW's investigators photographed the scene and the bullet vehicle. An identical vehicle mysteriously disappeared in a nearly identical case arising in New York, which was defended by BMW. In crash testing of two full size BMWs, the gas tank crushed and collapsed at only 17 mph in rear end crash tests conducted by experts hired for Dr. Chin's case. The car also had failed in tests conducted by BMW at the Technical University of Berlin, but these results were not reported to NHTSA, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration as required by Federal Motor Vehicle Standards.
Chin v. BMW

Recovery Amount: Confidential
Case Details: Wrongful death of a 16-year-old in a rollover of a CJ-7 Jeep. Settled on a confidential basis at the demand of Chrysler and agreed to by surviving parents.
Mock v. Chrysler Corporation, Fresno County Superior Court Action Number 442560-9

$1.35 million
Case Details: 48 year old United Airlines pilot suffered a leg fracture when he was struck by a high speed model airplane being clocked for speed at a sanctioned competition of the Academy of Model Aeronautics at Whittier Narrows. The crash of the model airplane and the injuries to plaintiff were caused by faulty construction, faulty pre-flight inspection, and the failure to conduct such races in protected fenced arenas. In addition, the standard AMA pre-flight pull test is believed to have caused the failure of fuselage bolts which caused the plane to fly out of control at a speed of 184 mph.
Armstead v. Academy of Model Aeronautics, Alameda County Superior Court No. H-150430-1

$750,000
Case Details: A lineman for Pacific Gas & Electric suffered burn injuries caused by a defectively designed electrical switch Similar switches caused 10 deaths and 21 serious injuries over a 25-year period, but no warnings were ever distributed to users.
Smethurst v. G&W Specialty Company

$1,655,000
Case Details: Used tire purchased from a house front mechanic delaminated as a result of defective manufacture and defective engineering design. Extremely difficult liability claim. The base rubber skim stock did not contain proper anti-oxidants, causing the tread to separate from the liner, resulting in a rollover of a van. The belted mother of three was in a second row passenger seat and had moderate injuries. Her three children were unbelted in the rear and were thrown from the van, killing a six year-old boy and severely injuring two girls, ages 9 and 12. Defendant tire company required as a condition of settlement that its name not be revealed.
Oladunni v. Brand X Tire Company, San Joaquin Superior Court

$750,000
Case Details: Wrongful death of a father of three when he suffered cardiac arrest and drowned while standing in a swimming pool using the defendant's defectively designed submersible sump pump that was never properly pressure tested.
Furchtenicht v. Peabody Barnes and General Electric

$200.0 million
Case Details: Class action case involving 33,000 owners of 1987-90 Nissan minivans which had been the subject of three recalls due to engine failures and fires before the suit was filed. One week before the hearing on plaintiff's motion to certify a national class action, Nissan negotiated a settlement of the class action, stipulated to the certification of a national class, and resolved a federal investigation by the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration by "voluntarily" agreeing to an unprecedented buy back of 33,000 vans at fair market value [$5,000 to $7,000].
Johnson v. Nissan Motor Company In U.S.A., Santa Clara County Superior Court No. 730558.

Recovery Amount: Confidential
Case Details: Wrongful deaths of four teenaged boys on Christmas Day when a 1978 four wheel drive Dodge Ram Charger overturned at 20 miles per hour and landed on its roof. The case settled after two years of extensive trial preparation which showed that Chrysler anticipated this vehicle would roll in the field, and for that reason installed a roll bar in the passenger compartment, while allowing the rear mounted filler tube, which was bolted to sheet metal at the rear of the vehicle to remain unprotected in a rollover.
Howard and Mary St. John, Fran and Wendy Benjamin, Phill and Gayle Martin and Arthur and Deborah Cepeda v. Chrysler Corporation, Santa Clara County Superior Court No. 722446

$1.0 million
Case Details: 19 year-old driver suffered head injuries after a Ford Explorer went out of control and rolled.
Beever v. Ford, et al, Santa Clara County Superior Court

$120.0 million
Case Details: Class action case involving 3.3 million owners of Chrysler minivans (1984 through 1995 models), requiring correction of defective rear hatch door lock failures in nominal impacts.
Mann v. Chrysler Corporation, Santa Clara County Superior Court Action number CV 746017

$550.0 million
Case Details: National consumer class action case against General Motors involving 5.5 million owners of 1973-87 C and K model pickups with saddlebag gas tanks located outside the frame rails beneath the side doors.

$1.2 million
Case Details: A San Jose warehouse illegally sold the contents of a circuit board manufacturing shop owned by plaintiffs.
Skover, et al., v. Warren Capital Corporation, Santa Clara County Superior Court No. 733405

Recovery Amount: Confidential
Case Details: Wrongful death of a 19 year old man burned to death in a side impact of a 1987 Chevrolet pick-up truck with gas tanks mounted outside the frame beneath the doors.
Condry v. General Motors Corporation. Missouri Circuit Court Twenty-Second Judicial Circuit, Louis City, Missouri Case Number: 022-00146