Facts

Plaintiffs sued defendants following a multi-vehicle car collision that occurred on April 30, 2012 on Interstate 580 near Interstate 980, in Oakland. Jane Doe, 39, was rear-ended by Jose Alfresco when she stopped suddenly after seeing a traffic collision up ahead.

PLAINTIFF'S CONTENTIONS:
After Doe's vehicle was struck, Doe hit the vehicle in front of her, which hit another vehicle before flipping over. The impact caused the seat of Doe's vehicle, a 1995 Mazda Protégé, to collapse backward and the back of her head was struck by protruding metal from Alfresco's vehicle, a 1997 Chevrolet Cayenne pickup truck. Doe sued Alfresco and Mazda Motor of America Inc., alleging strict liability and negligence. Doe's husband sued for loss of consortium.

Plaintiff contended that the collapsing seat was a design defect and that under the consumer expectation test a reasonable consumer would not expect the seat to collapse under the same circumstances.

DEFENDANT'S CONTENTIONS:
Mazda denied that the vehicle had a design defect and asserted that the vehicle performed as designed. It claimed that it was the impact of two successive collisions that caused plaintiff's injuries.

Settlement Discussions

Plaintiff made a demand for $3.5 million and the defense offered $12,500.

Injuries

Plaintiff suffered a 20-centimeter laceration to the back of her scalp, 13 fractured ribs, and compression of her vertebra and nerve damage at the base of her spine. She underwent a lumbar spine fusion. Plaintiff was rendered a partial paraplegic, who requires the use of a cane and wheelchair to walk, as well as a catheter. Plaintiff also claimed she suffered continual severe pain below the waist.

Result

The jury found that the car seat was defectively designed. It found Mazda 55 percent at fault and Alfresco 45 percent at fault. It awarded plaintiff $13,967,421 in damages and her husband $1 million.