Facts

In the early morning of April 8, 2004, plaintiff Paul Megison drove his 2002 Chevrolet Avalanche SUV onto the Struve Slough Bridge, southbound on Route 1 in Watsonville and collided with the back of a CalTrans truck and its payload of a crash attenuator. The airbag in Megison's vehicle did not deploy.

Megison sued General Motors Corp. for damages, claiming the vehicle's airbag was defectively designed. He also sued CalTrans and Ron Mabalot, the driver of the cargo truck, for motor vehicle negligence.

PLAINTIFF'S CONTENTIONS:
Megison claimed the airbag was defective because it should have deployed given the force of the impact. Megison also claimed Mabalot and CalTrans were liable because Mabalot caused the accident by negligently changing lanes in front of Megison.

DEFENDANTS' CONTENTIONS:
All of the defendants denied Mabalot's liability for causing the accident, asserting that Megison was legally intoxicated at the time of the accident as his blood alcohol level tested at .16 over three hours after the accident. Defendants also claimed Megison's vehicle was straddling the center line of the two southbound lanes when he rear-ended the slower-moving cargo truck.

With respect to the airbag's failure to deploy, General Motors had accident reconstruction expert, Ronald Woolley testify that the impact from the accident was about four times less than a typical collision due to the energy absorption of the crash attenuator, designed to absorb impacts. Thus, the frame of Megison's vehicle was not impacted, so the airbag's sensor indicated that the impact never reached the level necessary to deploy the airbag.

In addition, biomechanics expert, John Melvin, testified that the accident was classified as an intrusion accident because materials from the CalTrans truck intruded into Megison's occupant compartment. Melvin asserted that even if the airbag had deployed, it would not have protected Megison from the intrusion. Melvin further added that had the airbag deployed, it likely would have killed Megison. Therefore, the design likely saved Megison's life.

Settlement Discussions

Plaintiff demanded $1.7 million from General Motors and $1.2 million from CalTrans. General Motors offered $50,000.

Specials in Evidence

Megison presented $850,000 in medical expenses.

Damages

Megison sought $3 million in medical costs, past and future medical and wage loss, and unspecified damages for past and future pain and suffering.

Injuries

Megison suffered fractures to his face, wrist and knee injuries, and a brain injury that allegedly prevented him from working as an aircraft mechanic.

Result

The jury found the defendants not liable for the accident or Megison's injuries.

Deliberation

2.5 hours

Poll

12-0

Length

12 days