MILWAUKEE ―
Jeffrey S. Fertl,
Noah D. Fiedler and
Melissa J. Lauritch, attorneys in Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP's
Milwaukee office, recently obtained a unanimous verdict in favor of Volkswagen AG and Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. in a design defect case. The lawsuit arose out of a one-car rollover accident on October 26, 2006, resulting in plaintiff’s ejection from her 1999 Volkswagen Jetta and subsequent paraplegia. Plaintiff alleged that she was ejected as a result of a defect in the vehicle’s restraint system. While plaintiff claimed no recollection of the accident or of seat belt use, her experts opined that she was properly wearing her seat belt and that the seat belt buckle was inadvertently released just prior to the roll sequence, causing plaintiff to become ejected from the vehicle and resulting in her paraplegia. Defense experts opined that the evidence showed plaintiff had not been wearing her seat belt prior to the accident. After a three-week trial, the jury found that plaintiff had not met her burden of establishing that she was wearing her seat belt at any time prior to the crash.
Plaintiff sought $27 million in damages, but recovered $0. Plaintiff has indicated that she will not appeal.
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